Chemistry Gone Wrong: College Dorm Explosion

dorm

It wasn’t part of his homework, so blowing up a dorm room for extra credit isn’t going to go over well with other occupants of the building. One unidentified 22-year-old Brigham Young University student is not destined to be real popular with his classmates this term. Especially not when they get back to find what’s left of their belongings.

Oops, I blew up the dorm

This student’s extracurricular activities over the weekend taught him a chemistry lesson he’ll never forget. He blew up his dorm room trying to cook up rocket fuel.

He got the idea from something he saw on YouTube. If he actually takes chemistry classes at BYU, his professor will be slapping him upside the head for it. At, least he will if he has tenure.

Provo, Utah is generally a quiet place. Students at Brigham Young University don’t have a reputation as party animals. On Sunday, February 20, the peace and serenity was shattered by an afternoon explosion at the dorm.

Doing one of those “don’t try this at home” type experiments, the student tried to whip up a batch of rocket propellant on the stove. About five pounds of it. He didn’t have any fancy equipment, like a thermometer, and was using common ingredients he brought home from the supermarket.

The result was “serious property damage.” The mixture got just a tiny touch too hot and whamo, “leading to a fireball.” A total of 22 students, the college notes, are now displaced from their dorm.

BYU Police Lieutenant Jeff Long relates, “the resident was making about five pounds of the substance when it overheated, causing a fireball to erupt in the kitchen.” That’s when the fun started.

Fire sprinklers triggered

There’s good news and there’s bad news, the lieutenant advises students returning from the extended Presidents’ day weekend. “Flames from the explosion engulfed the walls and ceiling around the stove triggering the fire sprinklers in the building, which flooded the main floor.

The dorm is a disaster. “Provo firefighters arrived and quickly extinguished the rest of the fire.” Luckily, nobody was hurt. Electronic devices, books, and printed materials didn’t do nearly as well.

Water from the sprinklers flooded other units.” Lt. Long is thankful it didn’t turn out to be a catastrophic event. The holiday helped because most of the students who call the dorm home weren’t there.

It was definitely poor judgment on this person. He didn’t think this through.” The particular unit which exploded houses six, “but only two were home at the time. One person was involved in the experiment gone wrong and has been interviewed by police.

They’re still assessing the full amount of structural damage but officials confirm that “due to the fire and water damage from the sprinklers, 22 residents have been displaced.” The police also ask that dangerous experiments are kept out of the dorm. “Please keep your experiments in the lab and supervised by trained professionals.

Singed off eyebrows and being ostracized by fellow students seems to be enough punishment for now, police relate. “At this time the resident is not facing charges.” That could change. “Once the investigation is completed, it will be sent to the prosecutor to determine if charges will be filed.

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