The Sioux County Sheriff's office responded to an explosion with injuries at 915 Hayes Street in Hull, Iowa around 8:20 Friday night.  21-year-old Ryan Meerdink was reportedly firing the potato gun when an explosive powder inside it ignited and ruptured the device.  Meerdink was rushed to the Sioux Center Hospital with life threatening injuries and later died. The state fire marshall is calling the explosion an accident.

KSFY spoke with Ryan's family today about what happened last night to with the potato gun. They said that Ryan was hit in the stomach when the device ruptured. Three other people were with Ryan when the accident occurred, including his soon to be fiance, Cortney.

When KSFY spoke with Ryan's mom, Donna, she said "He was a young man who's life was taken too early. He was a good man to all. He has many friends and loved the outdoors and was very adventurous."

While the family did not want to appear on camera at this time, they say they do want to raise awareness about the dangers of potato guns. We spoke with a local expert about the dangers that come with building such a device.

"When something goes wrong with a potato gun, it goes very wrong," said Jim Sideras, Division Chief of the Sioux Falls Fire Department.

Ryan Meerdink's life was taken by a homemade potato gun when something didn't go as planned.

"They sound very innocent. It sounds kinda fun. When you see them being shot it looks fun, but just because of the nature of what involved they're very dangerous," stated Sideras.

Potato guns are typically handmade with PVC pipe, a propellant, and an igniter.  When these three ingredients are combined, they cause a powerful force, shooting a potato 2- to 3- hundred feet in the air. But these ingredients can also cause deadly consequences....

According to Division Chief Jim Sideras, "The problem can be if something gets plugged up, too much propellant, it will actually explode."

The problem with potato guns is that while they're very dangerous, they're also very easy to make.  There are hundreds of videos and websites that have directions on make such a device.

"It's very concerning when you see the amount of information on the Internet on how to build them," said Sideras. 

But no matter much information is available, there is no safe way to make one.

"If you or your child has a potato gun, its best just to get rid of it. Its not safe. Sooner or later someones going to get hurt with it and the injuries can be very sever and be life threatening," stated Sideras.

Once again, Ryan Meerdink's family members hope people will learn from their son's accident and that it will keep future incidents from happening.