Blaze Damages House Where Chemicals Are Found

An explosion and fire damaged a home in Fairfax County yesterday, and federal authorities said it might have been touched off by an attempt to make fireworks.

A man was working with chemicals in the garage of the house on Portage Place in the Centreville area when the blast occurred shortly before 12:45 p.m., a county fire department spokesman said.

No injuries were reported, and authorities did not name the man. Officials said it took more than three hours to extinguish the fire.

Mike Campbell, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which was called to the scene, said the man "may have been . . . making homemade fireworks."

Campbell called the activity dangerous and said the blast "shows what happens when you try to make your own."

He said flash powder, which he described as "basically an explosive," was found at the house. "If you light a match to it, it will explode," he said.

Campbell said he had no details on the quantity or composition of the powder.

But he said that producing a spark while the powder is being used can cause a "mini explosion" and fire.

County firefighters were called to the house, in the 13500 block of Portage Place, a cul-de-sac in the western part of the county, after the explosion and fire were reported. The fire was burning in the garage and an attic area, and the homeowner was trying to douse it with a garden hose, Capt. Michael Schaff, a fire department spokesman, said.

He said firefighters found chemicals and other materials in the garage, which raised concern about another explosion. They contacted chemical and explosives units and federal authorities.

In a shed on the property, authorities found chemicals and fertilizer that in combination "can be considered explosives," Schaff said.

Plans were being made last night to remove what he called "a large quantity" of chemicals from the shed. He said two adults and two teenagers were displaced, and an investigation was underway last night.

A Portage Place resident described the occupants of the house where the fire occurred as "good neighbors." In his dozen years on the street, Jeff Reynolds said, he has "never had any problems with them."

A Maryland man connected with a group of fireworks hobbyists and enthusiasts said those involved in such activities usually work safely.

"There are doctors. There are lawyers. . . . It's not a dumb man's hobby," said Michael Seets, who said he did not know the man involved in the Centreville incident. Seets said members of the group exercise great care and adhere to laws and regulations.

"It's no fun if anybody gets hurt," he said.