TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Investigators now have a timeline for what happened last Friday night when at least 17 teenagers suffered burn injuries from a bonfire explosion.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department says it is aware of about 60 people who were at the bonfire in the Town of Maple Grove. However, it says only a third of them, about 20, have provided written or verbal statements.
Investigators say the gathering started at about 6 p.m. Almost five hours later, between 10:50 p.m. and 10:55 p.m., is when they say a 55-gallon drum container was rolled into the bonfire, causing an explosion.
“It had some type of diesel, fuel mixture in the container,” said Lt. Chris Madle of the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office during an interview on Monday with FOX 11.
Shawano County Sheriff’s officials now say that container was about a quarter full.
Brandon Brzeczkowski’s aunt says he told her the container was thrown in without any time for him to try to stop it.
“They threw it into the fire, and it blew up. So, it was basically like a bomb,” said Jen Ziech, Brzeczkowski’s aunt.
People who suffered burn injuries were taken to Green Bay hospitals by other people at the party.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Office says no one called 911 and it didn’t find out about the incident until 1:10 a.m., more than two hours after the explosion.
“Green Bay PD made us aware of the incident and contacted our sheriff’s office, where we kind of took it over from there,” said Madle.
Since then, the sheriff’s department has been asking witnesses to come forward — assuring them no one will be issued a citation for underage drinking.
“The homeowner where this happened has been cooperating with us,” said Madle. “People that were there are cooperating with us. We’re not really getting resistance in that fact. It’s just getting everyone together and figuring out who was there.”
While authorities still wait for other party-goers to come forward, there has been no shortage of community support for those most impacted.
“We need everybody, and it just gets us through a little bit more,” said Tammy Breczkowski, Brandon’s mother.
Three teens from the Pulaski area — Brzeczkowski, Issac Nelson and Benjamin Van Asten — remain in the burn unit at a Milwaukee hospital. According to their verified GoFundMe pages, all three are expected to be there for a few weeks.
