A bachelor party in Bennington started Saturday night with a bang when too much Tannerite was used in target shooting, causing an explosion felt and heard for miles around and in several towns.
No one was hurt and using the explosive in target shooting is not illegal, Keith Nason, Bennington Emergency Management Director and Assistant Fire Chief, said in a phone interview Saturday night.
Tannerite is a brand name for a two-component explosive sold as targets for firearms practice.
The explosion was so big and so many residents reported the boom that Nason made a Facebook post on the Bennington NH Emergency Management page to let everyone know everything was OK.
“If you heard (or felt) a large explosion this evening, everything is under control and nobody was injured. A Bennington resident set off some tannerite and has been spoken to due to the amount of calls taken and houses shaken as a result,” Nason posted.
Later Saturday night Nason learned that the Facebook post was shared onto other group pages and numerous comments were made on the post including by residents of Antrim, Deering and Francestown, who said they also heard and felt the explosion.
“People as far as Route 9 said they heard it and people in the center of Antrim said they felt it,” he said.
The loud explosion occurred around 7 p.m. in north Bennington causing those who heard it to call both police and fire dispatch, Nason said. “Everybody said their houses shook, their windows shook.”
Nason said that his house shook so much he went outside to see if there was any structural damage.
Police were tapped to respond to the explosion, but when Nason got the page about the reports he offered to check it out based off what he heard and felt. “I caught up with the police chief and our rescue captain and as a group we searched for the source.”
They found the home that was hosting a bachelor party and discovered what happened.
“When I got there they also had a non-permitted fire, which we permitted and allowed them to finish cause it was really safe,” Nason said.
The property owner is typically responsible, Nason said, but was warned to not use that much Tannerite again.
“He just used an excessive amount. I don’t believe they used it intentionally,” Nason said. “It is legal, but when you do it in excessive amounts there can be repercussions. … It was a nuisance more than anything.”