Watch CBS News

Homemade Fireworks Explosion Sends Fairfield Man To Hospital

FAIRFIELD (CBS13) — An explosion rocked a Fairfield neighborhood, sending a man to the hospital with severe burns in what police say may be the first fireworks-related injury of the season.

Police say the morning explosion happened along Caitlyn Drive in Fairfield when Anthony Stewart, 42, was making homemade fireworks for the Fourth of July inside his garage.

"I hear outside something went off, something went off," neighbor Aiden Mason said. "I went outside and there was a bunch of smoke outside. You could barely breathe out there."

Stewart was airlifted to a Sacramento burn unit with life-threatening burns across his body. It's an image Mason won't soon forget.

"His legs, the skin was all ripped torn off. And his clothes were just—it's hard to explain," Mason said.

The Yolo County Bomb Squad and ATF collected the remaining explosives and detonated them safely at a remote location around 1:30 a.m.

Fairfield Police say among those explosives, they found several M1000s.

Stewart likely will face charges of illegal manufacturing and possession of an explosive device.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.