'Bug Bomb' Blast Destroys Apartment

Chemicals from household "bug bombs" exploded in a Normal Heights apartment Wednesday, injuring one man and causing extensive damage to the unit, 10News reported. 'It Literally Blew The Roof Right Off' Emergency crews were called to the apartment at 4534 34th St. shortly after 8 a.m. following a 911 call reporting an explosion, a San Diego Fire & Life Services dispatcher said. The resident, trying to rid the apartment of bugs, apparently set off 18 of the "bug bombs" at the same time, authorities said. A pilot light inside the apartment ignited the chemicals while the man and three sleeping children were inside. The children were not injured. "Their problem here was not the bug bombs, it was the fact that they had not turned off the ignition sources," San Diego firefighter Dean Cherry (pictured, left) said. "We had pilot lights still going, we had electronic equipment still working inside the apartment ... as soon as those fumes got to it, it literally blew the roof right off the apartment," Cherry said. The man was transported to UCSD Medical Center with minor injuries. The blast made the apartment uninhabitable, and the Red Cross was called to find shelter for the three children. Firefighters said that if there had not been an explosion, the chemicals would have poisoned the apartment's occupants.