Teen killed, another maimed, houses burn on July 4

The death of a teenager in Eastern Washington, a serious hand injury to a youth in Seattle and house fires in Kent and Tukwila were among the Fourth of July incidents reported by emergency agencies.

In Sunnyside, the Washington State Patrol says a 17-year-old boy who was setting off fireworks in a road was struck by a car and killed late Monday night, according to The Associated Press.

The teen, Adan M. Gonzalez of Grandview, had his back to traffic when he was struck. He died at the scene

In Seattle, an 18-year-old man lost a finger when he picked up a homemade explosive that blew up in his hands at a Queen Anne Park about 11:30 p.m..

The Seattle Fire Department said the explosion knocked the teen out and also burned his leg and singed his hair. The teen was in a park with other teens near Third Avenue West and West Blaine Street when he found the explosive.

He was taken to Harborview Medical Center and was reported in stable condition.

Of two house fires in Kent, the more serious one, a two-story home, was heavily damaged by a fire shortly after midnight in the 25700 block of 117th Avenue Southeast.

The Kent Fire Department said it's too early to say whether fireworks caused the fire that took nearly a half-hour to control. The home was almost fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

A commercial truck in the driveway was also burning, and a home next door suffered minor damage. Investigators plan to return to the scene today.

Neighbors said they did not believe anyone was home at the time of the fire.

In an earlier Kent fire, airborne fireworks landing on a shake-style roof were blamed for causing a fire about 5:30 p.m. Monday in the 9800 block of South 247th Court.

No one was injured, and fire was confined to one section of the two-story house in the 9800 block of South 247th Court, according to the Kent Fire Department.

It wasn't immediately known who had set the fireworks or whether the fireworks that triggered the blaze were legal. Three adults were in the house at the time of the fire, and all got out safely.

In Tukwila, the Red Cross was called to assist nine residents after a fire in a single-family residence in the 10300 block Beacon Avenue South.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com