Living next to the gunpowder factory is anxiety-inducing, says resident after explosion

Pekka Hämäläinen, a resident of Laukaa, Finland, lives just 300 meters from the Vihtavuori factory area, a site with a long history of explosives manufacturing. Despite his proximity and familiarity with the sounds of testing, the possibility of a major accident weighs heavily on him.

His concerns were amplified on Wednesday morning when an explosion occurred at the Nammo gunpowder factory. The blast, which happened in a building being renovated, resulted in one fatality and one injury. The deceased was identified as an employee of a contractor working on the site. Hämäläinen, who was at home at the time, heard nothing but learned of the incident from a phone call from a friend.

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I want to extend my condolences to the relatives.

The Vihtavuori industrial area has a documented history of serious incidents. The most devastating occurred in 1966 when approximately one ton of dynamite exploded for unknown reasons, killing four people. Hämäläinen, who was only five years old at the time, remembers the area's association with explosives.

Even during normal operations, the factory's activities, including explosives testing, generate noise that is almost a weekly occurrence. Hämäläinen recalled one instance where a blast's pressure wave reached his home, breaking several windows. In 2013, he and over a thousand other residents were evacuated due to a risk of explosion when a waste container holding explosives at a nearby Forcit factory became overheated. Jukka Ahonen, another local resident whose home is also close to the factory, remembers that evacuation well, as his parents had to leave their home.

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It sounded like a shot was fired in the yard.