Police Reports Detail Explosion, Witness Says 'The Walls Shook'

The following is an excerpt from the Woburn Police Department log. Please note that this is a sampling of activity in the log, not a complete account.

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Police reports from Tuesday's industrial accident on Wildwood Ave. shed some light on the moments following the explosion, which investigators determined was caused by a static charge from a vacuum cleaner.

A report by one of the first police officers to respond indicated that upon his arrival, white smoke was pouring out of an open garage door on the side of the building. When the officer arrived, a firefighter was in the garage bay assisting the victim, who was face down on the ground.

The officer noted that the victim, identified as a 26-year-old man from Contoocook, N.H., had serious burns to his body and his clothing had been burned completely off in some areas.

A report from a second officer indicated that upon arrival he spoke to a woman who said she was in an office eating lunch with her husband when she heard the explosion. The woman and her husband ran to the production area, and they used a fire extinguisher on the man's legs and the machine that was on fire.

Police also spoke to a second person who said the man involved in the explosion had gone to the production area to clean the machine for the next job. In order to do that, the machine needed to be vacuumed to clean the titanium powder from the previous job.

A third witness told police that he was working in another unit when he heard the explosion and "the walls shook."

The man said he assisted in putting out the fire before he was overcome by the smoke. This witness was the man transported to Lahey Clinic.