Birmingham man dies after massive firework exploded in his home

A man in Birmingham has died and his partner has suffered multiple leg fractures after an arson attack with a huge firework, leading to a murder enquiry.

Tony Nicholls' home after the arson attack - screen capture from YouTube/Showbiz Us-Uk

Tony Nicholls, 56, suffered from severe burns and smoke inhalation after a large firework, said to consist of approximately 200 tubes of explosives, was placed in his Birmingham home and set alight. The firework caused a massive blaze in the house, severely injuring Nicholls and leading to his partner jumping to safely from a window upstairs and suffering several leg fractures.

Nicholls was taken by firefighters to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Thursday for treatment for severe burns and smoke inhalation from the fire and was placed in an induced coma. However, he didn’t regain consciousness and passed away early on Tuesday morning. Birmingham police have now launched a murder enquiry into the incident.

Murder probe launched as arson attack victim dies after yobs blast his house with huge commercial firework https://t.co/NPAhX776eC

— Media Beast (@Mediabeast3) November 7, 2017

The downstairs floor of the property was left blackened by the blaze, which ripped through the home at around 11 p.m. on Thursday. Firefighters believe the massive firework likely took two minutes to fully discharge, quickly setting the home on fire.

According to a report by the Birmingham Mail, police had said in an earlier statement that the firework was a multi-shot commercial firework, around 2ft x 1ft in size and that once ignited, it would have lasted for approximately two minutes. They stated that the type of firework is normally used for an outdoor public firework display, adding that the impact inside a small house would have been terrifying.

As reported by the Guardian, West Midlands Police are urging anyone who has sold a firework of this type, or is missing one, to contact Detective Inspector Paul Joyce of the Homicide team. 

Murder inquiry launched after man dies following blaze caused by firework in homehttps://t.co/csjVYAtYCe pic.twitter.com/someTTM4hY

— ITV News (@itvnews) November 7, 2017

Joyce said the huge firework would have been heavy to carry for any distance and he urges anyone who spotted a person carrying a large box in the neighbourhood to contact police. After Nicholl’s death, Joyce said they are treating the incident as a murder enquiry. He said they are following up on several active lines of enquiry and are particularly looking into CCTV in the local community, which may have picked up the suspect.

Nicholl’s partner is still in hospital, being treated for her injuries. His daughter thanked emergency services, as well as medical staff at the hospital, for caring and treating her father.

Police have asked anyone with information relating to the incident to contact police locally on 101, or to phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.