WO. John Boehne of CFB Petawawa took a live grenade from a comrade who had panicked during exercises at the base on 16 November 1975. WO. Boehne, supervisor in the throwing bay, realized that the man had removed the grenade safety lever but that he was still holding the explosive in his hand. Knowing that a grenade fuse burns down in seconds, he grasped the man's hand but failed to loosen his grip. It was only by hitting the victim's hand against the bay wall that he managed to dispense of the grenade over the wall. It exploded almost instantly after the men took cover.