Crime & Safety

Police: Remote Key Ignited Vapors Causing Car Explosion

WHDH reported that vapors coming from plumbing equipment in the car's truck caused an explosion in the BJ's Wholesale Club parking lot on Sunday afternoon.

Flammable vapors were accidentally ignited by a remote car key, causing a car to explode in the BJ's Wholesale Club parking lot on Sunday afternoon, WHDH reports. 

Stoneham Police received multiple 911 calls around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday about the explosion, according to an emailed statement from Stoneham Police. Police officers and firefighters found a 2012 Honda Civic "badly damaged" by the explosion, with parts from the car strewn throughout the parking lot and two damage to two other vehicles parked nearby. The Honda was parked and unoccupied at the time of the explosion and no one was injured.

The Massachusetts State Police bomb squad responded along with the state Fire Marshal's Office to investigate. 

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"After interviewing witnesses and examining the evidence at the scene, it was determined that the cause of the explosion was not a criminal act, but the accidental ignition of flammable vapors," the police statement said.

WHDH spoke with the car's owner, who said she unlocked her car and popped her trunk using the remote key when the car exploded, which officials attributed to vapors coming from plumbing equipment in the car's trunk.

Find out what's happening in Stonehamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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