Bug Bombs Set Off Explosion In Citrus Heights

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Bug Bombs Set Off Explosion In Citrus Heights

From the Sacramento Bee:

Effort to rid apartment of bugs leaves three Citrus Heights families homeless

From Matt Weiser:

Three families were left homeless in Citrus Heights Sunday after an explosion triggered by overzealous use of insecticide foggers.

A tenant of the three-unit apartment building in the 7500 block of Cook Ave. was trying to deal with a cockroach infestation when he activated 10 cans of insecticide fogger in the apartment, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Capt. Christian Pebbles. At about 6 p.m. Sunday, the fogger chemical spread to an ignition source in the apartment, resulting in an explosion.

There was no fire in the building, but the explosion caused major structural damage in the building and it had to be condemned, Pebbles said. The three families occupying the building got help Sunday from the Red Cross to find temporary housing. No one was hurt in the explosion.

"We're lucky because there was flying glass all the way across the street," Pebbles said. "We had massive damage to the entire building. We have structural bearing walls blown out."

He said the tenant had previously asked his landlord for help with the insect problem, and got no response. But using 10 foggers in an apartment was "well over the recommended limit" for deploying the devices, Pebbles said. "This is an unfortunate incident."

Editor's Note: According to an article on the KCRA News website, the explosion lifted the roof and blew out windows of the building Sunday night. The blast also cracked the frame of the apartment building. Common sense would tell a reasonable person that 10 bug bombs would be too much for an apartment.

KCRA news reporters now are saying that fire officials found *18* bug bombs in the small apartment. (Watching the 11pm news cast)

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Sunday, June 21, 2009