Gweedo
07-06-2007, 09:15 PM
I wonder how much longer it will be before fireworks displays are only a memory? :thumbsdown:
July 4 Fireworks Go Awry
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By STEPHEN THOMPSON The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jul 6, 2007
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ST. PETE BEACH - The morning after this city's Independence Day celebration, an area the size of a football field remained cordoned off as investigators sifted through remains of burnt-out fireworks shells that never made it off the ground.
At a nearby motel a forensics technician took photographs of blown-out windows.
It was an eerie aftermath to what happened Wednesday night when, as an estimated 5,000 people watched, hundreds of rockets encased in wood explode on the sand instead of in the sky.
As investigators and representatives of the company that staged the fireworks show tried to find the cause of the misfire - and one similar to it in nearby Treasure Island - public safety officials elsewhere dealt with aftermaths of their own Fourth of July troubles.
•Near Port Richey, a 5-year-old Hudson boy and his mother were injured, authorities say, after Tony Glenn Rogers, 39, of Tampa lit a firework inside the Galaxy Fireworks tent on U.S. 19 at Hammock Road, causing a chain reaction of explosions that shot through the structure's thin fabric walls.
The boy, Griffin Berkman, had a face wound, a flash burn on his right ear and singed hair, a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report states. His mother sprained an ankle as she tried to escape the explosions. Rogers was charged with arson of an occupied structure and two counts of arson resulting in injury. Investigators were looking for a man who entered the tent with him.
•In Clearwater, a 47-year-old Brandon man collapsed Wednesday night after igniting a firework on a neighborhood street, police said. Robert Mandella, of 1411 Harness Horse Lane, fell to the ground while the firework exploded a few feet off the ground.
Mandella was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital, where he remained in critical condition Thursday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Clearwater police did not know what caused Mandella to collapse. "He wasn't hit, burned, cut, broken, blown up or otherwise injured by the device," spokesman Wayne Shelor said.
In St. Pete Beach, the fireworks show went as expected until its finale, said Fred Golliner, fire chief of St. Pete Beach Fire & Rescue. Then, Bell's Fireworks Display Co. of Tampa was supposed to ignite more than 1,300 shells of varying sizes and power.
A preliminary investigation showed, however, that one shell with the diameter of a baseball accidentally discharged, setting off most shells remaining on the ground, said Natalie Strong, a city spokeswoman.
Parents scrambled to get their children to safety as bits of wood shot like shrapnel across the beach hitting - among other people - Golliner. A series of concussions likened to a sonic boom rocked the summer air and shattered 20 windows at the Bon-Aire Resort Motel.
The motel's staff later remade guests' beds to ensure no one cut themselves on broken glass.
Golliner said the explosions knocked him down. Then, while rushing to see who was injured and how badly, a chunk of wood struck his arm. All told a dozen people sustained minor injuries: Golliner, the local fire marshal, four Bon-Aire guests, five Bell's employees and a woman who tripped while running for safe ground.
A nail sailed hundreds of feet before landing in the swimming pool at The Lido condominium complex at 4450 Gulf Blvd., which is next to the Bon-Aire, said Alex McPeek, a 17-year-old visitor from Indianapolis staying at The Lido.
July 4 Fireworks Go Awry
Skip directly to the full story.
By STEPHEN THOMPSON The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jul 6, 2007
Related Links:
Treasure Island Photos
Tent Fire Photos
Tent Fire Video
ADVERTISEMENT
More from this channel:
Search for more information:
Site Search Archives Keyword
TBO.com Site Search | Tribune archive from 1990
ST. PETE BEACH - The morning after this city's Independence Day celebration, an area the size of a football field remained cordoned off as investigators sifted through remains of burnt-out fireworks shells that never made it off the ground.
At a nearby motel a forensics technician took photographs of blown-out windows.
It was an eerie aftermath to what happened Wednesday night when, as an estimated 5,000 people watched, hundreds of rockets encased in wood explode on the sand instead of in the sky.
As investigators and representatives of the company that staged the fireworks show tried to find the cause of the misfire - and one similar to it in nearby Treasure Island - public safety officials elsewhere dealt with aftermaths of their own Fourth of July troubles.
•Near Port Richey, a 5-year-old Hudson boy and his mother were injured, authorities say, after Tony Glenn Rogers, 39, of Tampa lit a firework inside the Galaxy Fireworks tent on U.S. 19 at Hammock Road, causing a chain reaction of explosions that shot through the structure's thin fabric walls.
The boy, Griffin Berkman, had a face wound, a flash burn on his right ear and singed hair, a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report states. His mother sprained an ankle as she tried to escape the explosions. Rogers was charged with arson of an occupied structure and two counts of arson resulting in injury. Investigators were looking for a man who entered the tent with him.
•In Clearwater, a 47-year-old Brandon man collapsed Wednesday night after igniting a firework on a neighborhood street, police said. Robert Mandella, of 1411 Harness Horse Lane, fell to the ground while the firework exploded a few feet off the ground.
Mandella was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital, where he remained in critical condition Thursday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Clearwater police did not know what caused Mandella to collapse. "He wasn't hit, burned, cut, broken, blown up or otherwise injured by the device," spokesman Wayne Shelor said.
In St. Pete Beach, the fireworks show went as expected until its finale, said Fred Golliner, fire chief of St. Pete Beach Fire & Rescue. Then, Bell's Fireworks Display Co. of Tampa was supposed to ignite more than 1,300 shells of varying sizes and power.
A preliminary investigation showed, however, that one shell with the diameter of a baseball accidentally discharged, setting off most shells remaining on the ground, said Natalie Strong, a city spokeswoman.
Parents scrambled to get their children to safety as bits of wood shot like shrapnel across the beach hitting - among other people - Golliner. A series of concussions likened to a sonic boom rocked the summer air and shattered 20 windows at the Bon-Aire Resort Motel.
The motel's staff later remade guests' beds to ensure no one cut themselves on broken glass.
Golliner said the explosions knocked him down. Then, while rushing to see who was injured and how badly, a chunk of wood struck his arm. All told a dozen people sustained minor injuries: Golliner, the local fire marshal, four Bon-Aire guests, five Bell's employees and a woman who tripped while running for safe ground.
A nail sailed hundreds of feet before landing in the swimming pool at The Lido condominium complex at 4450 Gulf Blvd., which is next to the Bon-Aire, said Alex McPeek, a 17-year-old visitor from Indianapolis staying at The Lido.