Guard soldier injured in Fort Pickett blast expected to recover

A Virginia National Guard soldier wounded in an accidental blast at Fort Pickett is in stable condition at VCU Medical Center and is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesman said yesterday.

Thirteen soldiers taken to Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg on Wednesday night were treated and released and have returned to duty, said Maj. Cotton Puryear.

The soldier flown to VCU suffered second-degree burns and lacerations on one hand, Puryear said. She's expected to be released in the next day or two.

A small device used to simulate the flashing and banging sounds that soldiers experience under fire accidentally detonated about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Puryear said. The device went off as soldiers were gathering materials used for training earlier in the day to place them back in storage.

Puryear described the blast inside a training building as "almost like a big firecracker," and said that officials were characterizing it yesterday as an accidental detonation rather than an explosion.

He said the incident was an accident and while "there does not appear to be any negligence involved," officials need to finish interviewing the troops before they can release a detailed account of what happened.

Fort Pickett, located in Southside's Nottoway County, is the training base for the Virginia National Guard.

-- Tom Kapsidelis