AMHERST — An Amherst man who allegedly threw a lit smoke bomb-style roman candle into a University of Massachusetts fraternity house Sunday morning is facing a series of charges, police said.
The 23-year-old man will be summoned to court on charges of malicious destruction of property over $250, unlawful possession of fireworks, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace after he was identified, from surveillance video, tossing the pyrotechnic device into Theta Chi, 496 North Pleasant St., at 3:50 a.m. Sunday, said Detective Janet Lopez.
For Fire Chief Walter “Tim” Nelson, such an incident, even though no one was hurt, is a serious matter. “It could have been a lot worse,” Nelson said.
The device, Nelson explained, can burn to about 1,000 degrees fahrenheit and could have caused more extensive damage if something combustible had caught on fire.
Assistant Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren said the store-bought roman candle, about the size of a soda can, only runs for about 20 seconds once lit, but throws off a lot of sparks and smoke during that time. In fact, it scorched the linoleum floor onto which it was thrown, he said.
About a dozen residents were home at the time of the incident, with more expected back when the semester begins next month. Stromgren said even though smoke detectors went off in the building and the alarm sounded, the fire department appreciates that the fraternity brothers not only vacated the home, but called to report seeing smoke filling the first floor.
Firefighters determined there was no active fire, and also learned that the suspect is not a member of Theta Chi, Stromgren said.
He said the device is already prohibited in the state, whether or not it is used outdoors.
“Fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts,” Stromgren said. “Obviously, setting one off indoors raises it to a whole new level.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.