BLOOMSBURG -- Police say it was a homemade explosive that was set off inside an off campus apartment complex in Bloomsburg Monday night. Thankfully, there was no real damage and no injuries reported, but tenants say the sound it made was shocking.
Bloomsburg University junior Dakota Clock was at his friend’s apartment in downtown Bloomsburg when he heard a pop.
"There was a few of us and we heard a loud boom. It was really close. We ended up stepping outside and just saw, we smelled something weird," said Clock.
Clock says it smelled like chemicals, but he didn't pay too much attention to it until the fire alarm went off.
"Then cops started coming around banging on doors telling us to evacuate, so we left," said Clock.
The fire department and police were called to Husky Housing; it’s an off campus housing facility inside the Husky Korners building in Bloomsburg.
"They put these things together. The things go off. It explodes and someone can get hurt," said Bloomsburg Fire Chief Bob Rupp.
Chief Rupp says someone used Drano and some other ingredients to make a small homemade chemical device, possibly as a prank.
"We found that it was one of these Drano, they call them Drano bombs." said Rupp.
Even though there were no injuries, the fire department says the bomb let off an aggravating chemical smell. Students were allowed back inside after the fire department cleaned up.
Property management believes the bottle landed on a landing between two floors. It's not very close to many rooms. However, several of the tenants say they heard the sound loud and clear.
“I just heard a big bang. I thought it was a gun shot. I looked out my peep hole. I triple locked my doors," said Bloomsburg University student Victoria Weigle-Lindsey.
Other students say they were scared and hope that someone is held accountable for the supposed prank.
“No one got in trouble for it. So now we're thinking, 'oh, is this going to be a routine thing because people think it's funny,'" said Bloomsburg student Katie Hartigan.
The fire department says these homemade bombs are dangerous and could cause chemical burns to someone handling them.
Police are looking into the incident.
The property manager says if they do find out who set off the Drano bomb, she will press charges.