UPDATE: Dinwiddie man killed during homemade fireworks explosion

DINWIDDIE, VA (WWBT) - A family is mourning the loss of man in Dinwiddie County, after an explosion of homemade fireworks took his life. At least six different agencies secured the property off the 19,000 block of Shippings Road, after the blast Sunday morning. The man was flown to VCU Medical Center, but didn't survive the injuries. Investigators haven't yet released the identity of the victim.

Deputy Fire Marshall Nick Sheffield, of the Dinwiddie County Fire Department, says the victim was making fireworks in a trailer, just 20 feet from his home. Investigators are trying to figure out what exactly went wrong.

"One side of the trailer is completely demolished. The other side is intact to a degree," described Sheffield, of the aftermath. Firefighters say the victim also kept commercial fireworks in the trailer.

A family friend, who wished to remain unidentified, says the victim was well-known in the community, and put on a show each Fourth of July.

"He does it every year," said the woman, who's known the man and his wife for many years. "He was careful…His wife doesn't really understand."

Even though fireworks are legal in some Virginia counties, they're illegal to make, sell or even possess in Dinwiddie.

One of the reasons fireworks are outlawed in the county is because of its rural makeup, which could easily ignite into a brush fire.

Officials say rather serious chemicals are also involved in manufacturing homemade fireworks.

"There's a lot involved depending on what you're making... nitroglycerine, nitrate, sulfides…Many different types of material," continued Sheffield.

Now, friends of the family say a wife and 14-year-old daughter are trying to cope with an unforeseeable tragedy.

"Praying for his wife and daughter... It's a shock to the whole community," continued the family friend. "He's a wonderful person, most wonderful person in the world."

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