Kenner, La. - A few pieces of tattered debris are all that's left from the fiery explosion that quickly ended a Fourth of July party in Kenner.
Daniel Duzac and his friends decided to shoot fireworks in a commercial area and around midnight ignited what's known as a sparkler bomb.
Police Chief Steve Caraway says Duzac made his bomb with 144 sparklers, tightly packed and wrapped with duct tape. One sparkler was used as the fuse. Just before it detonated, police say Duzac attempted to remove the fuse but it was too late.
"Just to give you an idea of the severity of the explosion, it damaged three nearby vehicles. It blew out the windows of the vehicles. He's lucky to be alive," says Caraway.
Duzac was rushed to the hospital for surgery. Police say he had severe burns to his hands, arms and legs. In fact, they say his left hand was blown apart.
"Had he been holding it close to his face, he would have been dead," says Caraway.
Keith Chiasson has been working at Lawson's Fireworks stand in Gretna for the past 16 years and he knows how important it is to always use caution around fireworks.
"In a sparkler, there are a few grams of black powder, which is the same substance used to fire a bullet," says Chiasson
Chiasson says a sparkler, used as intended, is fine. If the sparklers are combined to make a bomb, they can be extremely powerful.
Pictures from the scene in Kenner, where Duzac was hurt, show parts of nearby cars blown off and shattered windshields. It's the result of the sparkler bomb.
No one else at the party was hurt.
Duzac is in guarded condition after a night that started as a holiday celebration but ended with a frantic trip to the emergency room.
An image from a safety video dealing with sparklers
