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Fireworks carnage expected to scar minds Marysville -- Free counseling is available for victims and witnesses of the explosion at Marysville's July 4 fireworks show, a Yuba County official said Wednesday. The scene of the explosion, described by witnesses as bloody and chaotic, fits the description of an event that could cause post-traumatic stress disorder. It was unexpected, the victims and witnesses were unprepared for it, and there was nothing they could have done to prevent it, said coordinator of the county's Victim/Witness Assistance Program. Authorities said at least 14 people had confirmed injuries from the accident, including a 14-year-old who lost the lower portion of her right leg. Events like the explosion can cause a chemical reaction that later triggers emotions, such as sadness and anger - especially in people with poor coping skills who also lack a support network, she said. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder also include sleeplessness, depression, nightmares, anxiety and social withdrawal. Professional help may be needed if the symptoms don't go away after six weeks, she said. Sounds or smells, including the smell of something burning, can trigger intrusive thoughts related to the event. Victims become "hypervigilant" and overreact to loud noises, she said. Understanding why the symptoms are appearing could help victims cope with them, she said. People affected the most by the incident probably will never want to go to a fireworks show again, she said.
Marysville City officials have rejected nearly $10 million in personal-injury claims from a Fourth of July fireworks incident that took the leg of a 14-year-old girl and injured others, a city spokeswoman said Wednesday. Attorneys for Jessica Jo-Lynn Velez of Marysville informed the city that she was seeking about $2 million for present and anticipated medical expenses, plus general damages for a total of about $9 million. Four others - Alan Murdock, Traci Murdock, Febious Velez and Valerie Velez - also notified the city they each wanted $100,000 for damages arising from the incident, according to a separate claim filed with the city. Filing a damages claim is the first step in filing a lawsuit against the city. The City Council received the two claims Sept. 7 but revealed its decision only recently. The teen's claim names Fred May, owner of Wizard Fireworks and event producer Boom Boom Production, and event sponsors the Appeal-Democrat newspaper and Pepsi Co. Her claim also names as responsible parties the Marysville City Fire Department, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the state of California. The incident occurred during the pyrotechnics display at Lake Ellis in downtown Marysviile. The fireworks show has been a town ritual for at least three decades. Jessica Velez alleges that she lost her leg as the result of a misfired fireworks shell. She and another unnamed teenage girl were admitted to the Rideout Hospital intensive care unit as a result of the incident. The hospital treated and released at least a dozen others in the same event. The girl's four-page claim alleges that video and photographic evidence shows that the fireworks mortars were not properly set up for the annual event, which draws thousands of spectators. The results of a state fire marshal's investigation into the incident are not expected to be released until January.
Marysville Jessica Velez, 14, lost part of her leg when something exploded in the crowd at the city's 4th of July fireworks show at Lake Ellis. She had to have part of the leg amputated. She has been learning to walk with a prosthetic since November. "I'm feeling better since when if first happened," Jessica Velez said. "I'm just healing. And everything seems to be going smoothly except the case." In November, Marysville city leaders rejected a $10 million personal injury claim from the Velez family. Now, even though a report on the incident has not been completed, the family is going forward with a civil lawsuit in the case. Velez was in court with her family Monday in connection with the civil lawsuit, which has been filed against the company that put on the show, the show's sponsor, the city of Marysville and the California Department of Forestry. The CDF's investigation into the incident is not yet finished. "It has been nine months since the accident. There's absolutely no excuse for that report not being done," said Velez attorney Bert Ithurburn. CDF officials said that the case is still under investigation, and there's a "strong possibility" the report will be released in the next six weeks, before the next court date. The family's lawsuit has not specified damages.
Marysville The state fire marshal revoked the license of a fireworks operator and restricted the license of another Tuesday because of a July Fourth explosion in Marysville last year that injured 21 people, including a girl who lost part of her leg. State Fire Marshal Ruben Grijalva revoked the license of William King of Marysville, an independent contractor hired by the show's producer, Fireworks By Boom Boom Inc. of Hayfork. Grijalva barred Boom Boom from using "Salutes," the three-inch aerial shell believed to have exploded in a crowd of onlookers at Lake Ellis in downtown Marysville. Jessica Velez of Linda, then 14, lost the lower portion of her right leg in the blast. Joanna Avalos, also 14, suffered shrapnel injuries that required surgery. The remaining shells were seized for examination by an expert to see if they are safe, Grijalva said. Boom Boom was also required to shoot fireworks before shows to gauge how far away onlookers must be kept, and to have a local firefighter or state fire marshal present before and during events. Carol Dawes, Boom Boom's production manager, said company officials hadn't immediately reviewed the accident investigation report, but said the company will appeal the restrictions. King did not immediately return a telephone message left by The Associated Press through Dawes. Grijalva said King allowed a child in the setup area before the fireworks show, and allowed alcoholic drinks in the staging area, both violations of state law. He said there is no indication the alcohol was consumed. In a $10 million claim rejected by Marysville city officials last year, Velez alleged video and photographic evidence showed that the fireworks mortars were not properly set up. The personal injury claim was the first step toward filing a lawsuit.
Report Released In Marysville Fireworks Accident Almost 11 months after an explosion at a fireworks show in Marysville injured 21 people, including a 14-year old girl who lost part of her leg, the state fire marshal released its preliminary report into what happened. This is the most serious injury accident we've had in California in many years," said state Fire Marshal Ruben Grijalva. On Tuesday, Grijalva laid out a series of violations that he says were committed by the operator and the production company behind the fireworks. The investigative report found that the show's pyrotechnic operator, William King, allowed fireworks to be unsafely fired above spectators; that alcohol was allowed in the firing area; and that an underage person was found allowed in the firing area. The fire marshal is now moving to put King out of business. "We have revoked the license of the pyrotechnic operator," Grijalva said. The most seriously injured victim in the explosion was Jessica Velez, who lost part of her leg. When KCRA 3 told her of the news, she said, "That's great. That's the greatest news you can tell us." Her mother added: "Thank God. This has been very hard on all of us. Somebody needs to be in trouble for this." The fireworks production company, Boom Boom Fireworks, also received a notice of violation for not properly ensuring the safety of nearby spectators. The preliminary report still leaves the biggest question of all unanswered: what exactly caused the aerial fireworks to fire into a Marysville crowd. The fire marshal said he has now hired an outside expert to try to answer that question.
Marysville 2005 -- Almost nine months after an explosion at a fireworks display in a crowded Marysville park, a civil lawsuit is moving forward.Jessica Velez, 14, lost part of her leg when something exploded in the crowd at the city's 4th of July fireworks show at Lake Ellis. She had to have part of the leg amputated. She has been learning to walk with a prosthetic since November. "I'm feeling better since when if first happened," Jessica Velez said. "I'm just healing. And everything seems to be going smoothly except the case." In November, Marysville city leaders rejected a $10 million personal injury claim from the Velez family. Now, even though a report on the incident has not been completed, the family is going forward with a civil lawsuit in the case. Velez was in court with her family Monday in connection with the civil lawsuit, which has been filed against the company that put on the show, the show's sponsor, the city of Marysville and the California Department of Forestry. The CDF's investigation into the incident is not yet finished. "It has been nine months since the accident. There's absolutely no excuse for that report not being done," said Velez attorney Bert Ithurburn. CDF officials said that the case is still under investigation, and there's a "strong possibility" the report will be released in the next six weeks, before the next court date. The family's lawsuit has not specified damages. |
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Safe distance from fireworks under question 2004 -- The distance that spectators were kept from exploding fireworks that malfunctioned and caused injuries on Sunday might not have conformed to suggested national guidelines. Mayor Michael said Wednesday that barricades in the Cooper's restaurant parking lot prevented onlookers from getting within 300 feet of the launch site, which was located down an embankment. Julie Heckman of the American Pyrotechnics Association said that for every 1 inch diameter of a fireworks canister, spectators should be kept 70 feet away. Heckman said that ratio is the "prudent operator's minimum." The mayor said the fireworks used in the display ranged from 2 to 6 inches in diameter. The 70-to-1 ratio would mean that spectators should have been kept 420 feet from the fireworks launch site. National Fire Protection Association spokesman Guy Colonna offered another interpretation. He said the 70-foot rule applies to fireworks fired vertically, but the suggested distance is one-third less for those launched at an angle instead of straight up. The mayor said the fireworks were launched at an angle toward the Susquehanna River. Colonna said spectators would need to be kept 280 feet from the launch site, based on fireworks with a 6-inch diameter. That amounts to 46.6 feet per 1 inch of diameter.
-- The Pyrotechnics Co. conducted the fireworks show in which a malfunction during the finale caused an explosion and injuries to spectators and workers. Owner could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Chief Frank Roman said the company determined the distance that spectators should be kept from the launch site. He said the Pyrotechnics Co. had said a ratio of 60 feet per 1 inch of fireworks diameter should be used for a total of 240 feet of safety zone. Although the mayor had said that fireworks up to 6 inches in diameter were used, Roman said fireworks no larger than 4 inches in diameter were found after the explosion. Roman said the fire department felt 240 feet was a sufficient distance. The mayor said the Pyrotechnics Co. was there when the safety perimeter was put in place. He said company representatives did not indicate they were uncomfortable with the location of the barricades. "We did what they instructed," he said. The mayor pointed out that one spectator who was injured was in the Bruno's supermarket parking lot across Kennedy Boulevard, about 600 feet from the launch area. He said two live fireworks shells were found on the four-story Cooper's co-op building about 400-500 feet from the launch site. The mayor said the fireworks malfunctioned and caused intense heat that sealed the tops of some tubes, causing them to explode sideways. "It became effectively a pipe bomb." Police Chief Paul Porfirio said one of the fireworks shot through the window of the CVS pharmacy window across the boulevard. He said the incident appears to have been an accident, but the investigation is continuing and police are awaiting a final determination on the cause and origin. He said police have documented 25 people who were injured, but there might be more. Porfirio said anyone who was injured, had property damage or finds unexploded fireworks tubes should contact police.
Pittston 2004 -- As emergency personnel tended to the injured following Pittston's Fourth of July fireworks accident, city Councilman played music outside his house so loudly ambulance crew members could not hear each other, Duryea police allege. About an hour later, the 52-year-old councilman, who has said the city has too many police officers, drove into a restricted "crime scene" and over a fire hose, West Pittston police claim. Officers from those departments, who were assisting Pittston police after the mishap, filed charges against him on Friday in the office of Pittston District Justice. Duryea Police Officer charged him with disorderly conduct. The officer alleges he was playing music so loudly at a yard party that ambulance personnel treating victims could not hear each other, creating a hazardous condition. city Councilman, an activities aide at Luzerne County's Valley Crest nursing home, turned down the music when the officer asked him to, but then turned it back up, the officer said. Officer said he also yelled at police, saying they were spoiling the party and couldn't arrest anyone. But he said Friday everyone was yelling after the fireworks exploded and shot debris into the crowd, including some of the 100 people at his party. "At least five people in my yard were hit," he said. He said everyone was yelling because of the chaos, and the police were "hollering like Gestapo, screaming at people, ordering people around." He called the charges ludicrous. "We got the music off and that was the end of it, or so I thought," he said. West Pittston Police Officer also filed four summary charges against him, accusing him of unauthorized driving over a fire hose; failing to obey a traffic control device by driving into a crime scene area after the officer told him to stop; illegally driving in an emergency response area marked off by yellow tape, and careless driving. "I don't recall anything like that," he said. "Both incidents were brought to our attention by the out-of-town officers," Chief said. "I co-signed the citations because I called them (the officers) in for assistance (for the fireworks accident)."
Pittston 2004 -- A state police fire marshal has ruled the Fourth of July fireworks mishap that injured dozens was an accident, Pittston Police Chief Paul Porfirio said. However, two federal agencies - the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration - are still investigating. Scott Endy, acting resident agent in charge of the ATF Harrisburg office, Thursday confirmed the investigation, but he would not comment further. Chief Porfirio said ATF oversees licensing, delivery and storage of fireworks. "Our aspect was a criminal aspect," the chief said. "Our end wasn't the civil liability. What we found is the shell accidentally blew up just outside its container, causing the catastrophe." The owner of the company that put on Pittston's fireworks display, blamed the Chinese manufacturer for the misfire. OSHA's area director, Andrew Hedesh, based in Wilkes-Barre, said that agency was looking at whether employees of the fireworks company were properly protected and trained. "We have not drawn any conclusions," Hedesh said. He did not know when the agency would conclude its probe. At least two-dozen people, but possibly as many as 50, were injured in the explosion during the finale along the Susquehanna River. Two, including an employee of the fireworks company, were seriously injured and hospitalized for several days. The employee has since been released from Community Medical Center in Scranton, a spokeswoman said. A woman, 22, who was pregnant when she was injured by fireworks shrapnel as she watched the display, has been released from Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township, a spokesman said.
Pittston -- Fireworks were sent in all directions near ground level. Police have documented at least two dozen injuries; a few people were injured seriously. One of the fireworks reportedly shot through a window at CVS Pharmacy. Cooper's Seafood House also sustained some damage.
Pittston councilman guilty of traffic offenses Witnesses for a Pittston City councilman said he acted like a "hero" while trying to aid people injured by a Fourth of July fireworks accident and driving a woman, suffering an asthma attack, to get her medicine. But police claimed Danny Argo negated any good deeds by driving his car through a crime scene and over a fire hose that day. Following a hearing Monday, Argo was found guilty on four traffic violations, such as careless driving and running over the hose, carrying $500 in fines and costs. Argo was charged with disorderly conduct and several traffic offenses following the incident on July 4 in which a fireworks display malfunctioned, sending burning fireworks into a crowd by Cooper's Waterfront and unexploded fireworks throughout the neighborhood. Several people in Argo's nearby yard were injured as well. Argo and several witnesses he brought into court Monday maintained he did nothing wrong. "I will swear to the fact that never did he drive through any (police) tape, nor did he drive over the hose," said Allan Perry. Perry was struck between the eyes by a firework and his wife, Debbie, was the one in need of asthma medication. Magistrate Diana Malast in Plains Township found, however, that Argo's car would have been parked within the police tape if it had been where Argo described in court Monday. Argo initially declined to talk after Monday's hearing. "Get the (expletive) out of here before I crack you," he said when told his comments would be appearing in the newspaper. Later, he called to apologize and say he would be appealing the decision at a March 2 hearing in Luzerne County Court. He also announced he would be running for mayor in Pittston. About two weeks ago, Argo agreed to pay a $25 fine on a disorderly conduct violation based on allegations that a police officer twice had to tell him to turn down the radio at his home on July 4 while paramedics were working nearby. He said that he initially turned down the radio and that someone else turned it up again. But he vehemently denied allegations that he drove through the cordoned-off area or over a fire hose, as claimed by West Pittston Police Officer Christopher Alberigi. Susan Stasko, who was in the car with Argo, said there was no police tape where Argo was parked. "He just went up a couple feet, no stopping or anything in the way," she said. Michael Cefalo, another witness, said he watched Argo drive away and saw no police tape or hose. Pittston Police Chief Paul Porfirio did not witness the incident but said there was police tape blocking both sides of Johnson Road to protect the fire hose, which was the only line supplying water to the nearby rescue efforts. "We would not leave a fire hose unprotected," he said. Fire Chief Frank Roman said the fire hose had marks on it as a result of a vehicle driving over the line. It was not damaged but was tested before it was put back into service. Driving over a fire hose, and cutting offer water supply, could endanger the lives of firefighters, he said in court.
Pittston The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Schaefer Pyrotechnics Inc. of Lancaster County $8,100 and ordered corrections in safety procedures for violations related to the Fourth of July fireworks accident in Pittston. At least two-dozen people, but possibly as many as 50, suffered injuries such as burns, cuts and scrapes in the accidental explosion during the fireworks display finale along the Susquehanna River. Two people, including a Schaefer employee, were seriously injured and hospitalized for several days. Three other employees suffered minor injuries in the explosion, caused by a faulty explosive. Fred Reschauer, assistant area director in OSHA's Wilkes-Barre area office, said the company already has made some corrections and has until May 1 to make the others. "(The company) was given additional time to correct some items," Reschauer said. Because the case still is open, he could not provide specific information on what has been corrected, he said. He did, however, provide copies of the citations. All of the violations are considered serious. The first five violations, which came with an $1,800 fine, were for the company not providing employees with adequate information and training, the lack of information on chemical names, protective equipment and manufacturer data on the material safety data sheets. Two other other violations, for which the company also was fined $1,800, were the lack of use of protective equipment for the face, hands and chest and the employer's failure to assess the workplace to determine if hazards necessitated the use of personal protective equipment. OSHA also cited the company for not furnishing "employment free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees." That carried a $4,500 fine. The last violation relates to: The company not using additional measures to prevent adjacent mortars from being repositioned in the event a shell exploded in a mortar. Mortar racks not having sufficient strength to withstand failures and repositioning, causing fireworks to lift at low angles. Fireworks devices not adequately positioned securely to prevent them from tipping over. The display site including a building not of substantial fire-resistant construction, resulting in the building, Cooper's Seafood House Waterfront, catching on fire. The fireworks crew not conducting an adequate inspection of the fallout area after the display to locate unexploded pyrotechnics, some of which were found as long as two days after the show. Members of the Scranton police bomb squad disposed of at least six unexploded shells from the area. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people were watching the fireworks when the accident happened at about 10:15 p.m. The fireworks, launched from the Susquehanna River bank near Cooper's, began shooting horizontally when a malfunctioning shell exploded and caused adjacent shells to go off. Fiery debris bounced off the embankment into the crowd. Efforts to reach Kimmel Schaefer, owner of Ronks, Lancaster County-based Schaefer Pyrotechnics, on Friday were unsuccessful. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also was investigating the fireworks accident. Efforts to reach Scott Endy, acting resident agent in charge of the ATF Harrisburg office, also were unsuccessful on Friday. ATF oversees licensing, delivery and storage of
fireworks. |
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Aurora fire officials reported the accident there occurred after the fireworks show ended. A truck holding fireworks tipped and launched a shell that ignited and sailed into a crowd. The victims were taken to The Medical Center of Aurora with superficial splatter burns from sparks. They were treated and released. A preliminary investigation showed a rocket exploded
inside its launcher and dislodged another launch tube with a rocket that fired into the
crowd. |
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In Portland, Maine, fireworks exploded about 2 feet above the ground and ignited other pyrotechnics Friday, said Deputy Fire Chief Ronald Thompson. Three people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. -- An unexpected wind gust blew falling debris from a fireworks show onto the crowd at Green Bay, Wisconsin, sending 15 people to hospitals with minor burns.-- One man was hospitalized and 11 other people were treated for minor burns after a fireworks accident at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A mortar tube burst and the shell it was firing shot out sideways, showering spectators with hot fragments, police said. |
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-- Relatives
of those who died in a fatal overpass crush in July 2001 make their way toward the Kobe
District Court. 
2004 -- The grand finale
of a fireworks display sponsored by Pittston and West Pittston in the Riverfront Park area
went awry Sunday, sending possibly 50 people to area hospitals and igniting a small fire
at Cooper's on the Waterfront. 
--
In
1993, eight people were injured at Tennessee's Opryland theme park July Fourth show when a
fireworks device misfired into a crowd of spectators.