HOLTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) - Michigan State Police say three dozen sticks of dynamite were safely disposed of Tuesday morning in Muskegon County. The explosives were discovered around 10 a.m. at a home in the 8000 block of Brickyard Road, near Swenson Road.
Lt. Chris McIntire of the Michigan State Police Rockford Post tells WZZM 13 that a woman found the dynamite while cleaning. The explosives are believed to have belonged to her husband who had passed away.
The bomb squad found approximately 35 sticks of nitroglycerin-based dynamite in a freezer. Authorities burned the dynamite on site to prevent it from detonating. Lt. McIntire says burning dynamite caused an intensely hot fire that burned for about 10 minutes.
No one was injured.
It's not known why the deceased man stored dynamite in the freezer, but Lt. McIntire believes it could have been to prevent the dynamite from "sweating" which poses an explosion risk.
McIntire adds "it's not uncommon" for the bomb squad to be called to homes after relatives pass away. He says in the past, nitroglycerin-based dynamite was used to remove stumps or to clear land for agricultural purposes.