A Brigham Young University student in Utah nearly blew up his dorm while trying to make rocket fuel based off plans he found on the internet.
The incident happened Sunday afternoon when the unnamed 22-year-old took a bunch of common items he had purchased and followed online instructions in an attempt to make the fuel, said BYU Police Lieutenant Jeff Long.
The man was making the homemade mixture on the stove in his main floor dorm room, when the volatile mixture suddenly exploded into a fireball, covering the walls and ceiling around the stove with flames and triggering the building's sprinkler system, police said.
The Provo Fire Department arrived a short time later and extinguished the blaze. The explosion resulted in extensive damage to the building. Twenty-two students living near the room where the explosion occurred have been relocated to allow for clean up and repairs.
"It is clear that this situation could have been much worse and we are grateful that no one was injured," police said in a statement on Facebook.
Long said the "kitchen chemist" did not have permission to make rocket fuel and the project wasn't a class assignment -- he was trying to recreate something he saw online.
"It was definitely poor judgment on this person," he told CNN, adding that the student was making about five pounds of rocket fuel. "He didn't think this through."
The incident remains under investigation. It's unclear if the student will face any charges.
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