Explosives found in burned-out apartment in Niles

Niles, Ohio (WKBN) – People cleaning out an apartment in Niles that previously caught fire made a shocking discovery that led to a response from the bomb squad.

“We found a bunch of like — I don’t know if you want to call them pipe bombs or H180s — there’s like half sticks, quarter sticks,” the 911 caller said.

“When we got there, we did visually confirm that the devices probably were explosives just based on their appearance,” said Capt. John Marshall, with the Niles Police Department. “It looked like cardboard tubes with a fuse, probably some sort of explosive powder in them.”

The devices were found in the same North Road apartment that caught fire twice on the same day in June. Firefighters say the first fire appears to be accidental, however, the second just six hours later seemed suspicious.

“It was in a different location of the apartment that was not affected by the first fire, so that caused some concern,” Marshall said.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the second fire.

Firefighters say those cleaning out the apartment’s contents found the devices near where the second fire is believed to have started.

“Our firefighters were in there extinguishing that fire with explosives in there. And again, we don’t ever know what we’re going into. But in this case, we find out later that there’s explosives in there — it does concern me,” said Niles Fire Chief John Stevens.

The Youngstown Bomb Squad removed the devices for destruction.

“Everybody is lucky that they didn’t just spontaneously explode because they are just inherently dangerous because of what they are,” Marshall said.

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