NEW AVALON - An explosion ripped through part of International Police Organization Headquarters last night, destroying a laboratory and sending one IPO officer to the hospital.

According to the office of IPO Chief Benjamin Hutchins, the explosion, occurring at about 11:50 PM Avalon Standard Time, demolished a chemistry lab on the tenth floor. The lab is part of a laboratory complex used by the IPO's crime scene investigation unit. The blast also wrecked one of the building's main elevator shafts, putting the elevator out of service, and damaged windows and other items throughout the ninth, tenth, and eleventh floors. Fire-suppression systems contained the ensuing fire within moments, preventing further harm or injury.

One IPO officer was injured in the explosion and taken to Boyce Memorial Medical Center for treatment. The identity of the officer had not been released by the Chief's office at press time, but the victim is believed to be a member of the crime scene unit's second-shift crew. Lt. Luornu Durgo, the Chief's administrative assistant, would only confirm that the victim is an investigative officer, not a technician or laboratory worker. No information was available from the IPO, NAPD, or Boyce Memorial regarding the injured officer's condition or prognosis.

Investigators from the IPO and NAPD immediately began looking into the cause of the blast. They quickly announced that they did not believe the explosion to have been the result of a deliberate attack on the IPO.

"At this point we believe we can rule out the use of an explosive device or weapon," said NAPD Chief Inspector James Brass. "It appears that the source of the explosion was an equipment malfunction involving one of the high-energy tools used by the crime scene unit to analyze evidence. Chemicals used in the trace evidence analysis lab may also have been involved. At this point we just can't say for certain, but there are no indications that this was a deliberate bombing."

Witnesses said the explosion appeared to coincide with a lightning strike to the building at the height of the violent thunderstorm activity that blanketed the city for much of last night. Whether the blast was connected with the lightning strike is not yet known.

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Alright, so I've seen one too many episodes of CSI. But that explosion was pretty cool.

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CdrMike, Overwatch Reject