View Comments Los Angeles bomb technicians miscalculated the weight of homemade fireworks in a containment chamber that resulted in a "catastrophic" explosion that injured 17 people in South Los Angeles, authorities said Monday. Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore said five members of the bomb squad have been removed as a result of the explosion while they further investigate. The explosion – which damaged dozens of homes, businesses and vehicles just days before July Fourth – was highly unusual, officials say, because such containment chambers are designed to withhold blasts. The bomb technicians overloaded it above the safety rating, however, even as authorities are investigating whether the detonation device had a defect.