i was reminded of this from the way distant past.
Illegal fireworks factory that dun explodicated. On May 27, 1983, at approximately 9:15 AM, eleven workers were on duty when a cache of M-80 and M-100 explosives, flash powder, and other chemicals in the barn detonated, producing a powerful explosion and instantly killing all eleven workers and leveling the barn.[11] The initial blast was followed over the next several minutes by several smaller blasts which witnesses described as sounding like shotguns, believed to have been from individual firework cases which were not detonated initially.[12] Dan Lee Webb's cousin
Tommy Lee Webb, who was mowing the grass near the site, was reported to have been thrown more than 70 yd (64 m).[12] The blast also threw debris as far as 200 yards (180 m) from the site, and produced a shock wave that leveled trees as far as 100 yards (91 m) away.[1] The force of the blast shattered windows in several homes and other structures on nearby properties, which reportedly resulted in some neighbors receiving minor cut wounds.[7] Bodies were hurled through the roofs of the nearby house and carport and as far away as 500 feet from the site.[1] Nothing in the barn was left intact; all of the bodies had lost limbs and six were decapitated.[11] Some were stripped by the force of the blast.[11]
Several witnesses claimed to have seen a white mushroom cloud which was estimated to be 600 to 800 feet tall, and the blast was heard and felt in Cleveland over 20 miles (32 km) away.[11] Several 911 calls were received moments after the initial blast, and within minutes, several police units arrived at the scene. Webb's wife Linda Sue, who was in the house at the time, fled before deputies arrived.[2] Tommy Lee Webb, who was critically injured, was taken to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga with burns to about 35 percent of his body.[12] Crews from the ATF and TBI arrived later to investigate the cause of the explosion.[1] A Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) crew, which included forensic anthropologist William M. Bass of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, later arrived on the scene to identify the victims.[12]
