Man arrested after being injured in home explosion

Friday, August 10, 2012

Tags:

wake county, local/state

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A Raleigh man faces charges after an explosion in his home Thursday evening.

A Haz-mat team was called to the house in the Hampton Oaks neighborhood in north Raleigh around 9 p.m. The house is located in the 2700 block of Pidgeon Hill Road, off Ray and Lynn roads, near Lake Lynn.

The home's owner, 48-year-old Ralph E. Bradsher, suffered burns and was decontaminated after some type of chemical exposure.

Neighbors told ABC11 that they believed it was a drug house. They said there has been a lot of traffic and people who didn't live in the neighborhood hanging out at night.

Investigators found packets of cold medications and other items in trash cans, but have not confirmed it was a meth lab. When firefighters went inside, they said they noticed something strange and pulled all their rescuers out.

There was no power to the home and generators were found outside.

The NC State Bureau of Investigation posted a sign on the front door that said "a clandestine laboratory for the manufacture of illegal drugs and or hazardous chemicals was seized" from the home. The City Inspections Department also deemed the house unsafe.

Bradsher has been charged with maintaining a vehicle/dwelling/place controlled substance, which is a felony. Bond was set at $25,000.