Petition filed in homemade smoke bomb case

By Elisa Glushefski

Published: August 18, 2008

The case of the 15-year-old who was burned after allegedly attempting to make a homemade smoke bomb at his house last week has been turned over to the Juvenile Justice system, said Francis J. Teevan, chief fire marshal with the Manassas City Fire and Rescue Department on Monday.

A juvenile petition was filed to have the boy, whose name was not released because he is a minor, evaluated in a non-judicial hearing to determine what action, if any, to take, Teevan said.

The Osbourn High School student was released from the hospital last week after being treated for burns on his face caused by a minor explosion and flash fire, fire and rescue said.

The boy was mixing chemicals and heating them on the kitchen stove at his house in the 10000 block of Battlefield Drive and that a flash fire ignited when the chemicals overheated, authorities said.

Preliminary findings indicate that the boy was experimenting and had no malicious intentions, Teevan said.

Authorities were alerted to the incident at about 7:05 p.m. Aug. 11 when medical staff at Prince William Hospital called the Manassas City Public Safety Communications Center reporting the juvenile was in the emergency room with burns from the incident.

Fire and rescue units responded to the house to make sure the scene was safe and Manassas police officers went to the ER to interview the juvenile.

Manassas fire marshals recovered chemicals and other potentially hazardous materials during a search of the house, according to the fire marshal’s office.

The teen could face criminal charges pending the outcome of the evaluation by juvenile intake, Teevan said.