Zach Stewart was placing a fireworks launcher on the ground when the barrel exploded in his hands Friday night at the home of a fellow Elmendorf Air Force Base airman, said Lt. David Parker, a police spokesman.
"Apparently they got (the mortar) in upside down," Parker said.
As Anchorage and Eagle River partied under a new city law that allowed fireworks use for 3 1/2 hours on New Year's Eve, police fielded a slew of complaints about nervous dogs and noisy neighborhoods.
But the blast that took Stewart's hand was the only serious fireworks-related injury reported to Anchorage police, Parker said.
The fireworks launcher is essentially a foot-long pipe used to fire mortars into the air. A police photo taken after the explosion shows the barrel ballooned and split by the blast.
The injury came at about 11 p.m. in the 16500 block of Nicoli Way in Eagle River, Parker said.
An airman first class with the 703rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Stewart was in "good" condition Monday at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The Air Force has deferred investigation of the injury to Anchorage police, said Corinna Jones, a spokeswoman for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
"It's a matter of making sure Airman Stewart is OK and it's all about his health right now," Jones said.
Stewart's Facebook profile lists his hometown as Bow, N.H., a small town about 70 miles north of Boston. He declined an interview request Monday at the hospital.
Reporter Rosemary Shinohara contributed to this report. Contact Kyle Hopkins at khopkins@adn.com.
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