A woman in Connecticut was severely injured earlier this week after mistaking a quarter stick of dynamite for a candlestick.
Officials said the woman’s residence lost power during a storm on Thursday night, ABC 7 reported. The family wasn’t able to buy emergency lights because Home Depot was closed, but according to the officials they recalled how the tenants before them had left behind what they thought were candles. The woman, who ABC 7 reports is around 30, lit what she believed to be a candle. It was dynamite, and it blew up in her hand.
The woman reportedly injured her face and one of her hands, “including the potential loss of several fingers,” and a window was shattered. The victim’s husband and two children were home at the time, but there were no other reported injuries. One of the children reportedly called 911 after the dynamite went off.
The state police, local fire department, fire marshal, as well as a bomb squad investigated the incident, evacuating the neighboring houses, according to NBC Connecticut. Officials reportedly found one other stick of dynamite in the house, which the fire and police department detonated and disposed of.
It is not clear why the previous tenants left behind a couple sticks of dynamite.