Two men were killed in a massive explosion Tuesday morning after apparently breaking into a New Hampshire business and using a blowtorch to break into its safe.
Deputy State Fire Marshal Rob Farley told the West Lebanon Valley News that Lucas Bourke and Ethan Keeler, both 21, used an oxy-acetylene blow torch in an attempt to cut into the safe, inside a workshop at New Yard Landscaping in Hopkinton, N.H. What they may not have known was that the safe contained numerous commercial-grade fireworks, which ignited from the torch and exploded, killing them in the blast, and significantly damaging the property. Neighbors described hearing the explosion and feeling a tremor from it.
“It appears that they were attempting to take property from the facilities unlawfully,” said Farley.
The two men did not have permission to be on the grounds but Tom Komisarek, the business owner told WBZ-TV that they had already loaded some items from the business into a vehicle. He said that he knew Bourke and that he would have been familiar with the business, but would not have known what was in the safe.
Both Bourke and Keeler had recent criminal histories. In May, Bourke was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of alcohol, according to ConcordPatch, and Keeler was arrested just last week on charges of receiving stolen property.