Accidents Fireworks Display- On Site

Hamilton
Man killed in fireworks accident

2005 -- A man who helped set off the July 4 community fireworks display here was killed when one of the devices used to launch aerial fireworks exploded as he was helping clean up, officials said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Lake County man, whose name was not immediately released, was helping clear the mortar tubes late Monday night after the display ended at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds, Undersheriff Kevin McConnell said.

The explosion also injured a second person, who was treated and released from a local hospital. Her name was not immediately released.

McConnell said an investigation is continuing, but it appeared an unexploded fireworks shell was still lodged in the mortar tube and exploded as the worker attempted to clear the tube.

"They were checking or inspecting the displays to see if any of the tubes had fireworks that hadn't gone off," he said. "He was just too close when it went off and the explosion killed him."

Victim in Hamilton fireworks explosion identified

-- Ravalli County authorities on Wednesday released the name of the man killed in a fireworks explosion while cleaning up after a Fourth of July celebration in Hamilton.

Brian J. Bachmeier, 22, of Arlee was killed when a pyrotechnic device thought to be a dud exploded while he was helping to dismantle a fireworks show Monday night at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds.

Bachmeier, who was a fireworks display operator, was believed to have been working on the device at the time of the explosion, said Ravalli County Undersheriff Kevin McConnell.

Although the explosion appears to be accidental, the incident remains under investigation, McConnell said.

In other fireworks-related accidents:

Tyler Stosich, a 20-year-old Lima resident, remains hospitalized in Missoula after a homemade sparkler bomb exploded sooner than expected. According Beaverhead County Sheriff Bill Briggs, shrapnel from the bomb struck Stosich in the spine, severely injuring his spinal column.

In Great Falls, the Associated Press reported, a 16-year-old Great Falls boy was arrested after a homemade bomb injured a 24-year-old man.

James Metcalf is charged with criminal endangerment and possession of explosives.

According to the AP report, the 24-year-old man lighted the teenager's bomb about 2 a.m. Tuesday, and it went off in his hand. All that remains of his right hand is his pinkie finger.

Man injured while setting off fireworks

2005 -- The president of a fireworks company was hurt Friday night when a shell accidentally exploded during the final celebration of Latrobe's 150th anniversary. Donald "Buck" Newell, 62, of Keystone Fireworks and Specialty Sales Co. in Dunbar, Fayette County, was taken to Latrobe Area Hospital and then flown to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, where he underwent emergency surgery for an injury to his left foot.

Newell's wife, Elizabeth, said the explosion shattered four bones in his heel and ankle. She said he'll have to undergo further surgeries.

Newell was setting off a 6-inch shell in a fireworks display for the city's anniversary when it blew up inside a mortar tube on the ground. The explosion blew apart the rack holding a couple of other mortar tubes, which prematurely launched the fireworks inside.

The explosion also spewed embers onto Memorial Park Stadium and the top of the pool house at Rogers-McFeely Memorial Pool, said Latrobe fire chief John Brasile.

"There was quite a big explosion," Brasile said. "It damn near caught the stadium and the poolhouse on fire."

A crew from the Latrobe Volunteer Fire Department quickly doused the embers at the stadium, on the pool house roof and some shrubs and landscaping near the poolhouse that caught fire, Brasile said. The paved track at the stadium melted in spots.

Firemen then spent the next four hours searching the area to make sure a stray spark did not ignite a fire elsewhere. They searched a locker room and a wood shop, packed with wood, underneath the stadium. They also checked the roof of the nearby Butter Beans skate park.

Volunteers from Lloydsville, Crabtree and Bradenville assisted the Latrobe department.

This is Keystone's first accident in the seven years the Newell family has owned the company. Family members said they are thankful because their father and husband could have suffered more severe injuries or could have been killed.

"He's just grateful to be alive, because it could have been much worse," Elizabeth Newell said.

She said that though they've been talking over the accident, they don't know what caused the firework to go off.

She said some of their fireworks are ignited manually. Now, she said, her husband plans to use electronic ignitions in the future.

No bystanders were injured.

Pawtucket
5 hurt in PawSox fireworks blast

2005 -- The Pawtucket Red Sox canceled plans for Fourth of July fireworks at McCoy Stadium last night as a precaution after an explosion during Sunday's display slightly injured five employees of a pyrotechnic company.

The five workers, employees of New Hampshire-based Telstar Display Fireworks, suffered minor burns and cuts, mainly on their legs, as they fled the explosion about 20 minutes into a planned 40-minute fireworks display, according to a Telstar co-owner. All five were treated at local hospitals and released within two hours of the 11:15 p.m. accident, said the company's co-owner, Lionel Bergeron, adding that some of the injured workers returned to work that night.

But Pawtucket fire and public safety officials urged the PawSox to cancel last night's fireworks until investigators could better understand why a fireworks shell exploded so close to the ground, setting off other fireworks prematurely.

Pawtucket's ''public safety director, along with the fire chief and the police chief, thought it was best that we all sit back and analyze what happened before we rush into another show," said PawSox president Mike Tamburro. ''There are certainly plenty of other nights for fireworks."

However, Tamburro stressed that he remains confident in Telstar's safety record, noting that the 26-year-old company has staged dozens of fireworks displays for the team over the last decade without injuries. ''This really might be a case of just a freak accident," he said. ''Sometimes it's freak accidents that cause the most problems."

Telstar's Bergeron said the accident occurred midway through the show when a shell exploded either on takeoff or as it was falling back to the ground, sending a cascade of hot embers into fireworks that were supposed to be launched during the grand finale. Firefighters said one crate of fireworks tipped over, sending fireworks shooting toward a group of employees near the launch site, in a parking lot behind the right field wall.

A witness told the Providence Journal that the misfired fireworks hit the outfield billboards and landed on the floor of the bleachers, which for safety reasons are off limits during fireworks shows. City safety rules require that no members of the public be within 300 feet of the fireworks. Partly as a result of that, no one other than the Telstar employees was injured.

''All the precautions that we take worked really well and kept the fans out of harm's way. The fans weren't even close to danger," said Tamburro, who said the team hosts about six fireworks displays per year, all staged by Telstar. In fact, Tamburro said, many of the 10,000 fans in attendance didn't even realize there was an accident: ''If you're in the stands, the finale was phenomenal. The place let up a loud cheer and people quietly exited the building."

Six people injured

2005 -- Fire officials in Pawtucket say a fireworks mishap after a Pawtucket Red Sox game on Sunday was an accident.

Six people were injured when the post-game fireworks show at McCoy Stadium went awry.

Four workers suffered burns, and two fans were hurt when they tripped and fell while trying to run away.

The fireworks show started after the PawSox game against the Charlotte Knights on Sunday. The accident led the team to cancel a similar fireworks display it had planned after last night's game.

Officials say a shell exploded as soon as it came out of its mortar, triggering a chain reaction and causing other fireworks to explode at a low altitude.

Pawtucket decides to change fireworks procedure after McCoy Stadium mishap

Pawtucket has decided to change its fireworks-lighting procedure after a recent mishap at McCoy Stadium left some people with injuries.

The city’s Fireworks Committee says there’ll be no more hand-lighting of the pyrotechnics accompanying the annual Fourth of July weekend fireworks show at McCoy Stadium. The display will be electronically detonated instead.

The mishap on July Third occurred when a shell just out of the tube exploded, igniting other fireworks and leaving several technicians with minor burns.

The committee later learned its display was the only one of several staged during the holiday weekend in which the fireworks were ignited by hand.

Montgomery
Fireworks malfunction
Injures firefighter

2005 -- A Montgomery firefighter is expected to recover full sight after a fireworks rocket malfunctioned during a Fourth of July celebration on Monday, his chief said.

About halfway into a 20-minute fireworks show at West Virginia University Institute of Technology, firefighter Rodney Perdue, a licensed pyrotechnician, was going to light a rocket in a firing tube when it ignited, said Chief David Thomas of the Montgomery Volunteer Fire Department.

"It went off inside the mortar tube instead of projecting out," Thomas said. "It caused a flash burn to his eyes — just like a welding flash."

Perdue did not suffer any burns, but he did get knocked down. He was released from the hospital late Monday after the incident, Thomas said.

Perdue had a doctor’s appointment Tuesday and will have several more, Thomas said. His medical bills will be covered by workers’ comp, he said.

"They’re checking his hearing, and he has some partial sight loss, but they feel like it’s going to come back," Thomas said. "They don’t [expect] long-term damage. It sounded a lot worse than what it wound up being."

After Perdue was loaded into the ambulance, the firefighters started igniting the other fireworks instead of storing them, Thomas said. Some fireworks had not been exploding at a safe height, he said.

Then another rocket went off in a mortar tube like the one that injured Perdue, so the rest of the show was canceled, Thomas said.

"We know we got some bad fireworks," he said. "Everything we were doing was by the book. All our guys were wearing safety glasses and their bunker gear."

The fire department has contacted the company that sold them the fireworks about the bad batch, Thomas said.

Livingston
Explosion injures fireworks technician

2004 -- A Livingston man was in stable condition Monday after suffering burns and other injuries while setting off fireworks for the Livingston Roundup Rodeo.

Daryl Hansen, a licensed pyrotechnician, has been in charge of the three-day rodeo's fireworks show the past eight years, Livingston Roundup Association President Bruce Becker said.

Hansen was injured Sunday night when a shell prematurely exploded on the ground during the show, said Tom Totland, a Park County sheriff's deputy and fire investigator.

The shell exploded inside a Fiberglas or plastic tube, he said.

"Whatever was inside, it went off and he got hit with some of that (tube)," Totland said. "It's still uncertain what caused (the explosion). When they lit it, something just didn't go right."

According to witnesses, Hansen was thrown several feet by the force of the explosion, which occurred at 10:40 p.m.

The incident was reported to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division of Arson and Explosives because there was an injury, Totland said. The division issues licenses for fireworks shows.

Agents initially declined to investigate, but they later asked that the area be closed off pending a more thorough investigation.

Latrobe
Man injured while setting off fireworks

2005 -- The president of a fireworks company was hurt Friday night when a shell accidentally exploded during the final celebration of Latrobe's 150th anniversary.

Donald "Buck" Newell, 62, of Keystone Fireworks and Specialty Sales Co. in Dunbar, Fayette County, was taken to Latrobe Area Hospital and then flown to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, where he underwent emergency surgery for an injury to his left foot.

Newell's wife, Elizabeth, said the explosion shattered four bones in his heel and ankle. She said he'll have to undergo further surgeries.

Newell was setting off a 6-inch shell in a fireworks display for the city's anniversary when it blew up inside a mortar tube on the ground. The explosion blew apart the rack holding a couple of other mortar tubes, which prematurely launched the fireworks inside.

The explosion also spewed embers onto Memorial Park Stadium and the top of the pool house at Rogers-McFeely Memorial Pool, said Latrobe fire chief John Brasile.

"There was quite a big explosion," Brasile said. "It damn near caught the stadium and the poolhouse on fire."

A crew from the Latrobe Volunteer Fire Department quickly doused the embers at the stadium, on the pool house roof and some shrubs and landscaping near the poolhouse that caught fire, Brasile said. The paved track at the stadium melted in spots.

Firemen then spent the next four hours searching the area to make sure a stray spark did not ignite a fire elsewhere. They searched a locker room and a wood shop, packed with wood, underneath the stadium. They also checked the roof of the nearby Butter Beans skate park.

Volunteers from Lloydsville, Crabtree and Bradenville assisted the Latrobe department.

This is Keystone's first accident in the seven years the Newell family has owned the company. Family members said they are thankful because their father and husband could have suffered more severe injuries or could have been killed.

"He's just grateful to be alive, because it could have been much worse," Elizabeth Newell said.

She said that though they've been talking over the accident, they don't know what caused the firework to go off.

She said some of their fireworks are ignited manually. Now, she said, her husband plans to use electronic ignitions in the future.

No bystanders were injured.

Chaiyaphum -- Thailand
Firework explodes
One dead, four injured

2004 -- A spectacular opening of the Loy Krathong festival in Thailand's northeastern province of Chaiyaphum ended with an unexpected tragedy last night when a pack of used firework exploded, killing one student and injuring four others, according to local journalists.

The incident took place at Nong Pla Thao Pond in the province's Muang District, where the Loy Krathong festival was organized with more than 10,000 visitors.

The event was graciously opened by the province's deputy governor, Suthana Theeveerapanya, who launched the fair with minutes of splendid firework displays on the sky spectacularly, said the journalists.

A group of students from Chaiyaphum Technical Colleage then helped collected used packs of the fireworks.

One of them exploded unexpectedly and suddenly killed a 17-year-old male student at his head, while other four students were seriously wounded, amid shocks of local residents and tourists attending the event, the journalists reported.

They are all the second-year students from the college's electrical department.

The four injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, with further information on their conditions having yet been available.

Red River Valley
Blast injures three. Aug.

2004 --An explosion injured three men Friday afternoon at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds during a fireworks convention. The Pyrotechnics Guild International members, who have not been identified, were taken to Fargo’s Innovis Hospital. Two were seriously injured

Red River Valley

--An explosion Friday injured three members of the Pyrotechnics Guild International who mishandled fireworks material, the group's president said.

The three people, who were from Illinois and Michigan, were not identified by Guild President John Steinberg, of Randallstown, Md. They were taken to an area hospital, two with serious injuries and one with lesser injuries, he said.

Red River Valley Fair manager Bruce Olson said it appeared the three suffered shrapnel wounds and burns.

The blast happened around 3:45 p.m., in a bunker area where fireworks are stored. Steinberg did not say what type of material exploded, or how it happened. But he said the three people "were engaged in an activity in deviation of rules and regulations."

"We'll eventually get some answers," he said.

Steinberg said the area where the blast occurred was being treated as a crime scene. Cass County Chief Deputy Jim Thoreson said one of the sheriff's department's bomb technicians was investigating. The sheriff's office called the explosion "accidental."

The Guild is a nonprofit organization of amateur and professional fireworks enthusiasts from around the world. More than 3,000 members are at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds for a weeklong convention during which they compete in shows and display their work.

"We've never had an incident like this in 35 years of history," Steinberg said.

He said the incident would not stop the show's grand finale set for Friday night.

"This explosion had nothing to do with the fireworks display scheduled for the Red River Valley Fairgrounds," he said. "It may well turn out that this accident had nothing to do with lawfully manufactured devices."

Bill Squires, of Humboldt, Iowa, said he was sitting in the grandstand when the blast occurred about a city block away.

"Boy, she blew," he said. "We heard it, we felt it."

The explosion blew around dirt and resulted in a lot of smoke, Squires said.

"It was a massive explosion," he said. "That was the biggest blast I've heard for quite a while."

Thoreson said members of the Guild are highly trained in explosives, and worked with members of the department's bomb squad earlier this week.

The Guild also held its convention in West Fargo in 2000 and 2002.

Red River Valley
Sheriff's department rules on fireworks
blast cause, identifies injured

-- A combination of spilled flash powder, a gravel surface and an errant step may have created the spark that set off an explosive device Friday that injured three people at the Pyrotechnics Guild International convention at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds in West Fargo.

Men injured in accident won't face charges

Three men injured in an explosion before a fireworks show here violated several industry safety standards but will not be charged, authorities said Monday.

The injured men were identified. A Fargo hospital has not released their conditions.

The men were hurt Friday afternoon when one of them accidentally ignited an eight-inch device known as a salute, said Cass County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Hall. The blast lifted a pickup truck and moved it more than six inches away from the site, he said.

Authorities say that one of the men stepped on or rubbed loose flash powder with his boot, creating friction and igniting the shell, Hall said. Flash powder is a mixture of a fuel and an oxidizer. Making it on the grounds is against regulations of the Pyrotechnics Guild International, which was holding the show.

The three men violated several other guild guidelines, Hall said.

The Pyrotechnics Guild International is a nonprofit organization of amateur and professional fireworks enthusiasts from around the world. More than 3,000 members were at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds for a weeklong convention during which they competed in shows and displayed their work.

Outgoing President John Steinberg, of Randallstown, Md., said the guild had never had such an accident in its 35 years.

Two men in stable condition after blast

Two men injured in a fireworks explosion Friday at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds were in stable condition Tuesday in the critical care unit of Innovis Hospital, spokeswoman Jodi Baumgartner said.

Wellfleet -- Up in smoke
Crew unscathed as 5,000 pounds of fireworks explode.

2004 -- Workers setting up a fireworks display yesterday near Wellfleet Harbor barely escaped with their lives when 5,000 pounds of pyrotechnics began exploding, set off by an electric-ignited shell that fired prematurely.

A pyrotechnics crew was loading mortars for Wellfleet's fireworks yesterday when something triggered an explosion, destroying the crew's truck. A series of spectacular blasts on Indian Neck lasting nearly an hour were witnessed by hundreds of summer revelers lining the shores around the harbor.

No one was injured and no houses, boats or other property were reported damaged. The accident created thick columns of billowing black and gray smoke, which was visible from miles away on a beautiful, mostly clear day. The odor of gunpowder wafted across the harbor.

Fire Chief Alan Hight had just finished mowing his lawn several hundred yards from where the display was being set up when he heard explosions.

Hight said he knew the display was being prepared for last night, since the Fourth of July display had been postponed twice previously due to weather.

"I knew they were definitely loading them," Hight said. "That was the first thing I was concerned about."

Hight said Wellfleet fire and the state fire marshal's office are investigating.

The company hired for the display, was also involved in a fireworks accident in Falmouth that injured nine of its workers in July 1997. One of the workers suffered a badly burned leg.

Company spokesman said yesterday that the accident likely started when an electrical match attached to one of the shells detonated prematurely.

"That likely set off a chain reaction of explosions," he said. "Usually when it happens, it's a catastrophe. ... This is a freak thing. It's a one in a million, but it happened."

Tragedy averted
The accident could have been far worse.

The company was also involved in a fireworks accident in Falmouth that injured nine of its workers in 1997. The company was fined $16,000.

The company produces about 600 fireworks displays annually, including about 200 in Massachusetts.

The law says fireworks displays must be set up in isolated areas, with a 100-foot buffer zone "for every inch of shell," according to Wellfleet Fire Chief Alan Hight.

"A crew is most vulnerable when they are setting up because they are not expecting anything to happen," The company said by cell phone while en route to Wellfleet.

Tragedy was averted when the head technician immediately evacuated the staging area, said The company.

"That's why we have certain safety guidelines. It's a perfect example of what happens when you prepare for the accident," he told the Associated Press. "It could have turned into a tragedy, and it didn't, because the technician was well-aware of what he needed to do."

The company produces about 600 fireworks displays annually, including approximately 200 in Massachusetts.

The company typically uses work crews of five to 15 men in preparing and igniting a display.

Five company workers were involved in setting up the display yesterday, Hight said.

After the Falmouth incident, an The company supervisor faced 10 criminal charges for alleged safety violations. The company was ordered to pay a $16,000 fine in October 1997.

None of the company employees involved in the Falmouth accident were working on the Wellfleet display yesterday.

The Falmouth accident also led to the company becoming "one of the first companies to put in strict safety standards," he said.

Two years earlier, a company employee was killed in an accident in Hudson when a shell accidentally ignited.

Loading mortar shells

The company workers in Wellfleet were led by a licensed supervisor with six years of experience, "one of the most experienced people in the business," he said. The other workers were certified to handle pyrotechnics, he said.

He declined to release the names of the workers, as did police. he said all are New Hampshire residents.

The company workers were loading mortar shells when one of them ignited, he said.

"Understand, you have four seconds to get out of Dodge," he said.

The explosions set the truck on fire and flames consuming the vehicle could be seen from across the harbor.

One of the largest blasts came when the truck exploded "like something you'd see on the news out of Iraq," said a former volunteer firefighter in Wellfleet.

Firefighters evacuated beachgoers from Indian Neck Beach, but not nearby residents since the closest homes were several hundred yards from where the explosions took place.

Fireworks displays are required by law to be set up in isolated areas, with a 100-foot buffer zone "for every inch of shell."

This is why so many displays are set off from barges, as was the case in Falmouth in 1997.

The truck used to transport the $15,000 worth of pyrotechnics appeared to be a total loss, heavily charred by fire.

A trailer behind the truck was also destroyed by the blasts and several acres on Indian Neck were scorched by brush fires.

In 2003, more than 6,800 people sustained injuries related to fireworks, according to a study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Only 100 were related to fireworks displays done by professionals. The number of mishaps by professional pyrotechnics companies was not available.

Syracuse -- U.S.A.
Fireworks accident killes Utica man

2003 --Local pyrotechnic died early Saturday morning during a fireworks display in Syracuse -- had a passion for designing and building fireworks equipment,. "He was a craftsman," "He could build stuff and design it to have certain effects. Instead of ordering (fireworks) from China, he had the desire to try to imitate their design himself." He was the very best," sixth-generation owner of the family business. "He took this very seriously. He was very careful and very professional." He was having trouble lighting the display behind the P&C Stadium after the SkyChiefs baseball doubleheader ended late Friday. Rescuers were called to the scene about 12:15 a.m. Saturday and rushed him to University Hospital in Syracuse, where he died. "It's tough to say what happened," "It was a total accident." His younger brother, who had worked at the company since he was 18, was lighting the display during the grand finale when the accident occurred. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident. The company -- a family-run business founded in the area in 1948, but in business for more than 100 years including time in Italy -- employs many family members and family friends, he said.

Syracuse -- U.S.A.
Fireworks Co. cited for violating
safety procedures in fireworks fatality

Federal safety investigators say a fireworks company violated several standard safety procedures that likely contributed to the accidental death of an employee.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that the Fireworks Co. committed seven "serious violations" following its investigation of a June 14 accident that happened during a fireworks display near P&C Stadium in Syracuse.

A man was killed when the display exploded early and one of the shells struck him in the head.

The company has disputed the violations and will appear before an administrative law judge to answer the charges, said OSHA area director. If found guilty, the company could be fined up to $4,750.

"It's not going to bring my son back," his mother told The Post-Standard of Syracuse when asked for comment about OSHA's findings. "The only consolation this gives me is that I hope the violations will be corrected so this won't happen again."

The man worked at General Electric in Rome but spent evenings and weekends traveling to New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts each summer, helping to set off fireworks. The company is owned by his uncle.

That night, he had trouble getting a fuse to light during the show's finale. On his third try, the fireworks exploded, setting off several others on the ground.

Among its findings, OSHA concluded the company failed to:

-- Assess the workplace to determine what hazards existed.

-- Ensure that employees wore eye protection.

-- Provide protective helmets to employees.

-- Maintain its portable fire extinguishers. One inside the company truck was discharged and blocked.

-- Annually inspect its fire extinguishers.

-- Provide employees with fire extinguisher education programs.

-- Provide a safe work environment, exposing employees "to the hazard of being struck or burned by exploding pyrotechnics."

Relatives said they also believe weather might have been a factor in the accident.

They have said it had been raining while the display was being set up, and that moisture probably dampened the chemicals in the fireworks, decreasing the charge it needed to get out of the pipe.

He said he knew nothing about the OSHA findings or the company's disagreement with the inspection findings.

"We still haven't figured out what happened that night," he told the newspaper. "We haven't made any changes. We're doing things just the way we've always done it."

U.S.A.
-- Two pyrotechnic operators were injured during a fireworks display at the city’s Fourth of July celebration. One device detonated prematurely near the ground and explosive particles hit two pyrotechnic operators nearby. The supervising pyrotechnic operator of the show was airlifted to UCLA with an injury to his neck. He was put on a ventilator, a source said, and he’s expected to fully recover. The assistant was igniting the shell that exploded. He was taken to hospital by ambulance with burns on his arms and chin. The mishap probably wouldn’t have occurred had the show been electronically operated.

U.S.A.
Man lost his right hand
-- He was in fair condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. The explosive, which might have been handmade, blew his right hand off to the wrist. "It looked like a bomb." It had a fuse about 12 inches long. It was designed to go off in the water." A right-handed roofer, held the device in his right hand and lit it with his left so that he could throw it off the dock. He said the explosive left a lot of tissue and bones exposed from the wrist. "We did look around for any tissue that we would have been able to reattach, but the hand was gone." Officials are not sure whether the explosive he used was homemade or commercial.

U.S.A.
-- A volunteer fire fighter working with Anamoose Fire Department at the Drake Centennial Fireworks show when he was struck by an errant fireworks shell and died the following day from the injuries he sustained.

U.S.A.
-- Seven people were injured when their fireworks went off unexpectedly on the ground in West Bend, Wis., and a 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after being struck in the face by a burning firework in Washington state. Numerous other injury and damage reports continue to flow in from other parts of the nation.

U.S.A.

-- A misfiring pyrotechnic ignited a trailer, killing three people who were putting on a fireworks show in Centerville, Ark. One shell soared treetop high before it descended and landed in the trailer where the rest of the show’s arsenal was housed. Two teens were killed in the blast, and a third person later died in a nearby hospital.

U.S.A.
Man dies in fireworks accident

-- A 50-year-old Melrose Park man who was apparently trying to shoot off fireworks with a homemade launcher was killed early Friday when a rocket struck him and exploded. He was taken by ambulance to Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police were called and found him unconscious with massive injuries to the top half of his body.

Canada
July 1st fireworks set off upside down

-- Human error caused the accident that seriously injured a local firefighter at the 1997 Canada Day fireworks display. A roman candle was fired upside down because the firefighters did not know exactly what it was. The report says firefighters assumed the fuse was at the bottom of the candle, as this is where the fuse is normally found on this type of large roman candle. The roman candle was not labeled. The report describes in detail all of the steps taken by the firefighters before and during the fireworks show. It notes that they inspected the fireworks and even test fired one roman candle before the show. A volunteer firefighter lost his left hand and right index finger and thumb. Three other firefighters were slightly injured in the incident. The fireworks show, which had barely begun when the accident occurred, was cancelled.

U.S.A.
-- North Dakota. A Firefighter died in the line of duty after a tragic Fourth of July fireworks accident. The department was handling the local fireworks display when one of the shells hit him in the chest during the show. The rest of the show was cancelled. Officials said they don't know what caused the accident. "We're not exactly sure. One of the shells exploded near him and as a result he was killed." Ambulance Service transported him to Hospital where he was pronounced dead on July 5. He is survived by his wife, his children and a granddaughter.

U.S.A.
Fireworks accident at State Fair injures two workers

-- Two workers were hospitalized in good condition after a fireworks accident at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The two were picking up shells when one of the shells exploded in a worker's hand, fair officials said. Spectators had already left the grandstand when the accident happened. The two workers were taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. One of them, an 18-year-old man, had burns. The other, a 25-year-old man, suffered a hand injury.

U.S.A.
-- Two fireworks crew members suffered cuts and bruises at Chandler, Ariz., when a pyrotechnic charge exploded in a holding rack.

U.S.A.
-- At Craig, Colo., a fireworks mortar shell exploded after the fireworks display had finished. Six firefighters went to a hospital for hearing tests. ``It was a 10-inch tube with a 10-inch dud in it and guys were just standing around when it went off.''

U.S.A.
-- On July 6, 2000, a man was killed while launching powerful, professional-caliber rockets near a friend’s home. He apparently leaned over the rocket when it did not immediately launch and was struck in the head when the rocket fired several seconds later.

Holiday fireworks accidents cause 4 deaths

-- Holiday weekend fireworks accidents killed four people as pyrotechnics displays misfired or blew up prematurely in two towns. Three of the victims were fatally injured in Centerville, Ark., when one fireworks shell exploded just after it was launched, shooting a fireball into the open door of a trailer where more fireworks were being assembled. Two teen-agers were killed in the blast, and a 32-year-old man died Monday at a Little Rock hospital. -- In Peoria, Ariz., stacks of fireworks started detonating Sunday while workers were still unloading them for a Fourth of July show there, authorities said. One worker suffered burns over 90 percent of her body and died Monday. Four others were injured.

Elsewhere, -- seven people suffered minor injuries in a fireworks mishap at West Bend, Wis.; a 13-year-old boy was in critical condition Monday after being struck in the face by fireworks in Washington's Snohomish County. -- A teen-ager lost the tips of his fingers to a large firecracker at Martha Lake, Wash. -- In Dilworth, Minn., a 20-year-old lost his right index finger when a cherry bomb exploded in his hand. He also was charged with disorderly conduct because police believe he intended to toss the device into a squad car. -- A mortar tube fell over during a fireworks display at Woodville, Ohio, firing projectiles into a crowd of about 2,000 people. Eleven people were injured. Woodville Mayor said he saw three of the projectiles skim across the ground and into the crowd. Two of the injured were treated for burns at a hospital; the others were treated at the scene. -- Two fireworks crew members suffered cuts and bruises at Chandler, Ariz., when a pyrotechnic charge exploded in a holding rack. -- And at Craig, Colo., a fireworks mortar shell exploded after the fireworks display had finished. Six firefighters went to a hospital for hearing tests. -- "It was a 10-inch tube with a 10-inch dud in it and guys were just standing around when it went off," Fire Chief said.

Lake Marion
Fireworks display cut short

-- The planned 45-minute show ended after only 10 minutes when a fireball from a firework ricocheted off a nearby birdhouse on the pier and into the grand finale fireworks stored under the gazebo, in turn setting off the remaining explosives. That set the gazebo afire, and fireworks began shooting in various directions out of control. “When I turned, I was terribly disappointed, we had a lot of nice fireworks ... the best we had ever had,” said the promoter of the annual event. “My first impression was to throw off the ones that were going off once I heard the explosion. There was too many going off at one time. I looked around, and I was the last one standing. Everybody else had already exited, so I did the same.” Firefighters on hand, totaling four or five people, had to wait in the lake until the explosions had stopped. Once they stopped, the firemen rushed to their truck, extinguished a pile of pampas grass that was on fire atop a shed and then doused the gazebo and the remaining fireworks to make sure that they were out. Other than those on the pier who jumped in the water, two to three dozen people watching the show from 25 to 30 yards away on land scrambled to safety. Within several minutes everything was back under control and no one was seriously injured. “When stuff started going back over the house where the cars were parked, I was worried about cars blowing up. I was also hoping that the people on the pier were all right,” said a woman, who was watching the display from the shoreline near the pier with her family. “Their (firefighters’) presence saved the property owner major damage ...”. “In order to avoid this in the future ... we will cover them (fireworks) better so that there is no chance of that ever happening again ... we learned by doing.” There was an estimated $3,500 worth of fireworks on hand. Only about a quarter of the fireworks were shot with the rest lost in the accident. The show was cut short for the first in the history of the event. “We had a lot of fun doing it (the fireworks show), we’re glad that no one got hurt and sorry that it was cut short

Canada:
Fireworks injure firefighter

-- Canada Day ended unhappily in Fort Saskatchewan. A local volunteer firefighter was badly injured while handling fireworks at Turner Park in the river valley. The annual fireworks display had barely begun at about 10:45 p.m. - only one rocket had been launched - when there was an explosion at ground level. Three firefighters could be seen running from the smoke, then a fourth, was visible on the ground near the center of the explosion. Officials say the firefighter sustained serious hand injuries. The large crowd of spectators and even the emergency workers took a few seconds to realize the seriousness of the incident, but an ambulance and crew was standing by at the park, and soon rushed over to attend the firefighter. A few minutes later RCMP escorted the ambulance out of the park and on to the Fort Saskatchewan hospital. The firefighter was then transferred to the University of Alberta Hospital where he underwent surgery Wednesday morning. He was reported in stable condition and resting later Wednesday morning. The three other firefighters also received minor injuries and were taken to the Fort Saskatchewan hospital for observation and soon released. Officials on the scene announced that the fireworks show was cancelled shortly after the ambulance drove off. The cause of the incident is being investigated by Occupational Health & Safety. RCMP also secured the area immediately after the incident. The fireworks remain at Turner Park until the initial investigation is complete and officials can safely remove them. The firefighter is a nine-year veteran of the local fire department. Volunteers stage the fireworks show annually.

5 hurt in PawSox fireworks blast

2005 -- The Pawtucket Red Sox canceled plans for Fourth of July fireworks at McCoy Stadium last night as a precaution after an explosion during Sunday's display slightly injured five employees of a pyrotechnic company.

The five workers, employees of New Hampshire-based Telstar Display Fireworks, suffered minor burns and cuts, mainly on their legs, as they fled the explosion about 20 minutes into a planned 40-minute fireworks display, according to a Telstar co-owner. All five were treated at local hospitals and released within two hours of the 11:15 p.m. accident, said the company's co-owner, Lionel Bergeron, adding that some of the injured workers returned to work that night.

But Pawtucket fire and public safety officials urged the PawSox to cancel last night's fireworks until investigators could better understand why a fireworks shell exploded so close to the ground, setting off other fireworks prematurely.

Pawtucket's ''public safety director, along with the fire chief and the police chief, thought it was best that we all sit back and analyze what happened before we rush into another show," said PawSox president Mike Tamburro. ''There are certainly plenty of other nights for fireworks."

However, Tamburro stressed that he remains confident in Telstar's safety record, noting that the 26-year-old company has staged dozens of fireworks displays for the team over the last decade without injuries. ''This really might be a case of just a freak accident," he said. ''Sometimes it's freak accidents that cause the most problems."

Telstar's Bergeron said the accident occurred midway through the show when a shell exploded either on takeoff or as it was falling back to the ground, sending a cascade of hot embers into fireworks that were supposed to be launched during the grand finale. Firefighters said one crate of fireworks tipped over, sending fireworks shooting toward a group of employees near the launch site, in a parking lot behind the right field wall.

A witness told the Providence Journal that the misfired fireworks hit the outfield billboards and landed on the floor of the bleachers, which for safety reasons are off limits during fireworks shows. City safety rules require that no members of the public be within 300 feet of the fireworks. Partly as a result of that, no one other than the Telstar employees was injured.

''All the precautions that we take worked really well and kept the fans out of harm's way. The fans weren't even close to danger," said Tamburro, who said the team hosts about six fireworks displays per year, all staged by Telstar. In fact, Tamburro said, many of the 10,000 fans in attendance didn't even realize there was an accident: ''If you're in the stands, the finale was phenomenal. The place let up a loud cheer and people quietly exited the building."