Authorities Detonate Beaver Dam Apartment

Authorities conducted a controlled detonation Wednesday inside the Beaver Dam apartment where one man died in an explosion Monday.

Beaver Dam Police Chief  John Kreuziger said at a Wednesday morning news conference that the apartment contained, "highly volatile, homemade explosives."

"They are so sensitive and cannot be removed," Kreuziger said. 

As a result it took until Tuesday to remove the body.

The detonation is planned for about 1 p.m. Wednesday, and police will hold another news conference at 4 p.m. Kreuziger said the controlled detonation could cause additional damage to the affected apartment.

Police were called about 1 p.m. Monday, March 5, 2018, to the Village Glen Apartments on Knaup Drive for a report of an explosion. 

The blast it blew out the windows and a sliding glass door in a second floor apartment.

"I heard an explosion that rattled windows and obviously looked at the clock and I knew something didn't make sense. It was a pretty loud explosion," Kirby Krohn told WISN.

Kreuziger said that upon entering the unit, officers saw a large number of chemicals.

"We took photos and we forwarded them to the FBI. We got information back that definitely those are explosive devices," he said.

Residents affected by the evacuation can attend a town hall meeting at 11:30 a.m. at St. St. Katharine Drexel parish, 408 S. Spring St. with FBI victim assistance specialists and Dodge County Emergency Management. The meeting is only for affected residents.

The person discovered dead in the apartment has not yet been identified, and the investigation could take weeks or months, Kreuziger said. 

On Tuesday, officials ruled out a meth lab as the cause of an explosion, and Kreuziger said investigators still don't know exactly what the chemicals are.

Chemicals also were found in a garage associated with the apartment, Kreuziger said. 

Police are allowing the occupants of the following apartment complexes to return to their apartments: 115, 117, 119, 123, 125, 127 and 129 Knaup Drive, and 222, 224, 226 and 228 East Industrial Drive.

The Beaver Dam Police Department and Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is maintaining the evacuation order in place for all other residences that have already been evacuated.

http://www.wkow.com/story/37669285/2018/03/07/one-dead-in-beaver-dam-apartment-explosion

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BEAVER DAM, Wis. (AP) _ Authorities say a team of explosive experts will detonate highly-volatile chemicals at a Beaver Dam apartment where a man was killed in an explosion earlier this week. 

Police Chief John Kreuziger said a news conference Wednesday the chemicals cannot be removed from the apartment because of their volatility, so the specialists will conduct a controlled detonation later in the day. Kreuziger says the detonation could cause additional damage to the apartment building. Some tenants at the complex have been displaced since Monday's explosion. 

Kreuziger says the investigation involving federal, state and local authorities continues into why the man possessed a significant amount of explosives.


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