'Huffing' May Have Caused A Car To Explode In Massachusetts

Screenshot: Sturbridge Fire Department/ CBS Boston

Massachusetts authorities say that “huffing,” a form of substance abuse, may have led to a vehicle explosion that damaged both the occupant’s vehicle as well as nearby cars, CBS Boston reports.

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If you’re unfamiliar with what huffing is, the National Institute on Drug Abuse describes it as a way in which inhalants —which can be anything from substances that produce fumes like gas or aerosols— are absorbed through the nose and mouth to produce a high, though “huffing” is a generalized term that is “applied to various types of inhalant abuse,” according to the American Addiction Center. Any way you describe it, it’s dangerous.

But a suspect in the small Massachusetts town of Sturbridge didn’t get the memo. On July 22, authorities in Sturbridge responded to a call of a vehicle explosion. When they arrived they found multiple vehicles damaged:

At the scene, they found a car with all its glass blown out, and doors that had been displaced but still attached.

The alleged suspect’s Toyota Corolla had the most damage while nearby vehicles were damaged from the explosion as well. After a bit of investigating by the local fire department, they found out what most likely happened: too many fumes in too small of a space ignited by a cigarette. Sturbridge fire chief John Grasso issued a statement describing what he believes happened as a result of the investigation:

The investigation remains ongoing, but it is suspected the female may have been in the car with the windows closed, huffing using cans of compressed air and then attempted to light a cigarette. Oftentimes these fumes are highly flammable. The buildup of these fumes inside the car followed by the attempt to light the cigarette appears to have caused an explosion resulting in the injuries to the female and the damage to the vehicle and surrounding vehicles.

Luckily no one else was injured during the explosion. Hopefully the woman who was doing the huffing gets the substance abuse help she needs so something like this won’t happen again.