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Jun-18-2009 15:00printcommentsVideo

Salem Man Seriously Injured in Explosion (UPDATE + VIDEO)

A neighbor says the man has a history of causing explosions inside his house.

Scene of explosion in Salem, Oregon 6-17-09
Photo and video by Jerry Freeman Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - UPDATE: Police say that while searching a vehicle parked in front of 1095 Norway St, Bomb Squad members located an improvised explosive device. The bomb robot was activated to retrieve the device and it was disrupted at the scene without any further incident or injury.

The bomb squad is currently in the process of checking the residence for further devices.

Officers are currently in the process of evacuating neighbors immediately in the area of this residence as a precautionary measure. The Red Cross is providing assistance to those who have no where to go in order to provide as little inconvenience as possible.

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The Salem Police Department Hazardous Device Team or 'Bomb Squad' was called out Wednesday after an explosion severely injured a Salem man.

Salem Police and Fire were called to 1095 Norway St NE just before 7:00 p.m. last night after 42-year old Patrick Hibler, apparently attempting to manufacture some type of explosive material in the residence, caused a detonation which seriously injured him in several parts of his body.

Mr. Hibler was transported to Salem Hospital and later transferred to Emmanuel Hospital in Portland.

After the explosion, Hibler was able to make it out of his residence after and seek assistance from neighbors, who called 911.

Our news photographer Jerry Freeman caught up with the neighbor that assisted the man. Charlotte Skelton told Salem-News that the man did something similar five years ago that involved losing the tip of a thumb to an explosion.

"This time he finished the job, blew off his whole hand," Skelton said.

The Salem Police Department Hazardous Device Team did an initial check and assessment of the explosive material and was able to secure the residence until further resources could be assembled and the material could be addressed safely during daylight hours.

Police say the initial assessment of the residence led investigators to believe that a substantial amount of explosive material may still be in the residence.

Salem's Hazardous Device Team is being assisted by Bomb Squads from the Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in this operation, and the agencies will be working in cooperation to remove the hazardous materials safely from the residence and dispose of it appropriately.

Police say, "The material can be potentially volatile in nature when it is being moved and/or manipulated, and limited evacuations are being planned at this time for residents in the immediate area. This could be a lengthy operation, as it is unknown for sure exactly how much material is in the residence. The City of Salem will be working with the Red Cross to assist those evacuees who do not have anywhere else to go in obtaining shelter.

The City of Salem Emergency Operations Center has been activated during this incident to assist in coordinating response, resources and services to those involved.

There will also be street closures during the time that the Hazardous Device Teams will be operating. Hood St NE, Shipping St NE, Norway St NE and Jefferson St NE will all be closed between Capitol St NE and the railroad tracks to the east.

Police say any evacuations and street closures are precautionary in nature with the safety of the community as our foremost concern.

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Anonymous June 18, 2009 7:21 pm (Pacific time)

Isn't that illegal? Manufacturing explosive devices...what a bad day. Blow yourself up and get charged for it. It makes you wonder if one that does that usually has malevolent intentions. Maybe he was just making it to blow something up in the woods or maybe he was making it for other reasons... Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.


Diane Huddleston June 18, 2009 3:13 pm (Pacific time)

Yes, the whole neighborhood is in an uproar because a lot of people have had to be evacuated. Can you ever really know who is living by you. If someone wants to blow themselves up, fine, but why do they have to put their whole neighborhood at risk?

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