Massive post-4th news roundup

Like the little graphic I made? Heh... Anyway, here are all the fireworks related news stories that seemed relevant and/or interesting to me, or at least worth some sort of comment. Basically I didn't have time to check my Google News alerts, and had a week of backlogged articles to read, so here we go...

Fireworks Blast Kills Mich. Woman

MELVINDALE, Mich. -- A powerful firework exploded in the face of a woman trying to set it off, killing her as her fiance and 8-year-old son watched, police said.

Danialle Barse, 27, was unfamiliar with the commercial-grade aerial firework she was using Monday night, said Mike Welch, a police detective in this Detroit suburb.

"She basically killed herself in front her children and her fiance," Welch said.

Barse and another woman were trying to set off a 3-inch mortar bomb in the parking lot of the car wash where Barse worked when it went off as she had her head over it, Welch said.

Unfortunate, and very sad for her family, but a clear example of why people who aren't qualified should NEVER use 1.3g fireworks. Full story here.

3 Shot Dead in Ohio Fireworks Dispute

CLEVELAND -- A neighbor apparently angry about fireworks at a noisy Fourth of July party shot three people to death early Thursday and wounded two others, police said.

Terrance Hough Jr., a 35-year-old off-duty firefighter, was arrested in connection with the shootings, police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said.

One of the more bizzare stories to come out of the season. Fireworks late at night are rude, and they annoy me sometimes as well, as much as I love them, but that is certainly no excuse for killing three people... Full story here.

Lots of illegal fireworks, but no major incidents, on July 4

OAKLAND -- Police made scores of arrests Wednesday involving illegal fireworks in Oakland, where officials had canceled the city's annual July 4 pyrotechnics show, but there were no major problems or injuries.

"I would say overall it was active out there but not as bad as previous years," Oakland police Chief Wayne Tucker said. "We had a lot of calls -- a lot going on -- but no major problems."

But I thought consumer fireworks viciously massacred millions of people each 4th of July? (especially in California). Full story here.

Fireworks That Injured 11 in Va. Are Investigated

Identical boxes of commercial fireworks made in China malfunctioned at six Fourth of July displays in Northern Virginia, including an accident in Vienna in which a misdirected shell injured 11 people, two seriously, officials said yesterday.

All six shows were operated by the same company, Schaefer Pyrotechnics of Ronks, Pa., and involved the same "cake boxes" of 25 three-inch mortar tubes. But fire officials in Fairfax County and Fairfax City, where a high-powered shell narrowly missed two Schaefer employees, said Schaefer did not appear to be at fault. The company declined to comment.

Investigators were trying to determine the exact origin of the fireworks yesterday. In Vienna and Fairfax City, the same thing happened: One shell exploded within a cake box, which tipped over and fired some rounds a few feet off the ground. A cake box is a container of five rows of five three-inch mortar tubes ignited by a single fuse.

"Leave it to the professionals" is good advice, but even safety conscious, experience pyros can have problems, and defective product is always a risk. Hopefully all that were injured recover quickly. Full story here.

Fireworks blamed for deadly blaze - Disabled man killed when apartment's back porch is ignited

Fireworks are to blame for a blaze that claimed the life of a 43-year-old disabled man this Fourth of July season.

Gradis Medcalf Jr. died Tuesday night in his second-floor South Side apartment, where fire broke out in the rear of the two-family home. He died of smoke inhalation, and his death was ruled an accident by the Cook County medical examiner.

It isn't entirely clear what happened (if he was involved somehow), but it is a sad story either way. Full story here.

Staten Island fireworks spark fight with police

A July Fourth barbeque on Staten Island turned into a veritable free-for-all, with five officers assaulted and more than two dozen people taken into custody after police tried to break up an illegal fireworks display, police said yesterday.

Police said they were responding to neighbors' complaints about the display and the arrests took place after the group became confrontational.

I guess they really liked those fireworks. Full story here.

8-year-old boy killed in fireworks accident

OLYMPIA, Wash. - A small cannon exploded as it was fired during a Fourth of July family gathering, killing an 8-year-old boy in one of several serious accidents involving holiday celebrations, sheriff’s deputies said Thursday.

The boy was hit by a piece of metal about 8 p.m. Wednesday while standing about 100 feet from the cannon, said Jim Chamberlain, chief criminal deputy of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Other shrapnel was hurled 234 feet, he said.

I hate coverage like this, a homemade cannon is in no way a "firework" as the headline suggests. Had they just stuck to consumer fireworks, that boy would still be alive. Full story here.

DA will investigate Cole-Hatchard fireworks, state police decline

STONY POINT - The New York State Police today declined to investigate a July 4th fireworks show at Stony Point Councilman Stephen J. Cole-Hatchard's home, leaving the job to the Rockland District Attorney's Office investigators.

The state police would be available if needed, District Attorney Michael Bongiorno said.

The state police didn't feel it was their case, Bongiorno said.

The Stony Point police declined to investigate the fireworks show last week and asked the District Attorney's Office to take the case.

Everyone is doing it! Full story here.

Operator error caused Cape fireworks problems

Operator error was the reason a Cape Coral fireworks show was cut short on the Fourth of July.

The pyrotechnician, who was in charge of setting off the mortars for Garden State Fireworks, "accidentally pressed the finale button on the panel early on in the show and decided to put the balance of the fireworks in the air immediately," said Mike Quaintance, president of the Chamber of Commerce, which coordinated the Red, White and BOOM event attended by about 50,000 people.

"He freely admitted to pushing the wrong button," Quaintance said.

This one is just funny... It would suck to be that guy. Full story here.

Fire marshal investigates severe burnings at fireworks show

 PIEDMONT -- The state Fire Marshal's Office on Monday began investigating an explosion at a fireworks show that severely burned a brother and sister who were part of the production crew.

Travis Dillard, 25, and Shannon Wilson, 27, suffered burns when a firework exploded close to the ground and lit a barrel of unused fireworks during Saturday night's show at the Piedmont High School football stadium, authorities said.

Now I obviously don't know the details of what happened here, but it sounds like they failed to use a proper ready box, which would have prevented this. Hopefully they recover quickly. In other news, it would be pretty cool to shoot with my sister... Full story here.

Well shite, that was a lot of reading. All in all it seems to have been a pretty typical year. A few tragic fatalities, most avoidable. Sames goes for injuries and fires. As usual, the key is simple safety. Rather than demonizing fireworks and simply trying to ban them, people need to be educated on using them safely. There will always be idiots who hurt themselves or others, but they would do the same thing if you gave them a wooden spoon. The fact that there weren't more serious incidents attests to the fact that consumer fireworks aren't as dangerous as critics say, and are a great way to celebrate.