• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Fireworks: Foolishness, Fails & Fatalities

Oh for goodness sake.............. :roll: :headbutt: Sometimes you really have to wonder about people
 
The bloke should sue the firework manufacturer:
I bet there wasn't a safety message saying "Do Not Stick Firework Up your Bottom"...... ;)
 
It'd be safer with a roman candles, that way the flames are pointing AWAY from your bum...
 
Timble2 said:
It'd be safer with a roman candles, that way the flames are pointing AWAY from your bum...

Ha! wimp's way round! Those Romans knew how to please the crowd. :p
 
Backside firework prank backfires

A man suffered internal burns when he tried to launch a rocket from his bottom on Bonfire Night.
Paramedics found the 22-year-old bleeding, with a Black Cat Thunderbolt Rocket lodged inside him, when they attended the scene in Sunderland.

He suffered a scorched colon and is now recovering in hospital, where his condition is described as stable.

A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said the prank could have been fatal.

Douglas McDougal, from the NEAS, said: "We received a call stating there was a male who had a firework in his bottom and it was bleeding.

"He sustained fairly significant injuries in the fact that there's huge damage to that particular area."

'Beyond belief'

Mr McDougal added: "Potentially it could have been a fatal incident.

"There's a lot of major blood vessels round that area, so infection would probably be a huge problem for him.

"And also the body naturally produces methane gas, so combine that with the firework and the exploding effect with methane's flammability - it certainly could have been a lot worse than it really was." :shock:

A spokesman for the Firework Association described the bizarre prank as "beyond belief".

He said: "We have spent a long time working with the government to create laws that make fireworks safer and better for the public.

"This incident is very concerning but hopefully an isolated one."

Northumbria Police said they were aware of the incident, which happened in the Dame Dorothy Street area of Monkwearmouth, but are understood not to be carrying out further inquiries.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/6132140.stm
"Northumbria Police [...] are understood not to be carrying out further inquiries. "

They don't want to look into it, eh? 8)
 
Backside firework prank backfires

From the BBC News website......


A man suffered internal burns when he tried to launch a rocket from his bottom on Bonfire Night.
Paramedics found the 22-year-old bleeding, with a Black Cat Thunderbolt Rocket lodged inside him, when they attended the scene in Sunderland.

He suffered a scorched colon and is now recovering in hospital, where his condition is described as stable.

A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said the prank could have been fatal.

Douglas McDougal, from the NEAS, said: "We received a call stating there was a male who had a firework in his bottom and it was bleeding.

"He sustained fairly significant injuries in the fact that there's huge damage to that particular area."

'Beyond belief'

Mr McDougal added: "Potentially it could have been a fatal incident.

"There's a lot of major blood vessels round that area, so infection would probably be a huge problem for him.

"And also the body naturally produces methane gas, so combine that with the firework and the exploding effect with methane's flammability - it certainly could have been a lot worse than it really was."

A spokesman for the Firework Association described the bizarre prank as "beyond belief".

He said: "We have spent a long time working with the government to create laws that make fireworks safer and better for the public.

"This incident is very concerning but hopefully an isolated one."

Northumbria Police said they were aware of the incident, which happened in the Dame Dorothy Street area of Monkwearmouth, but are understood not to be carrying out further inquiries.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/6132140.stm


Honestly.......what a tube......
 
From the BBC news website:

Backside firework prank backfires
A man suffered internal burns when he tried to launch a rocket from his bottom on Bonfire Night.
Paramedics found the 22-year-old bleeding, with a Black Cat Thunderbolt Rocket lodged inside him, when they attended the scene in Sunderland.

He suffered a scorched colon and is now recovering in hospital, where his condition is described as stable.

A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said the prank could have been fatal.

Douglas McDougal, from the NEAS, said: "We received a call stating there was a male who had a firework in his bottom and it was bleeding.

"He sustained fairly significant injuries in the fact that there's huge damage to that particular area."

'Beyond belief'
Mr McDougal added: "Potentially it could have been a fatal incident.

"There's a lot of major blood vessels round that area, so infection would probably be a huge problem for him.

"And also the body naturally produces methane gas, so combine that with the firework and the exploding effect with methane's flammability - it certainly could have been a lot worse than it really was."

A spokesman for the Firework Association described the bizarre prank as "beyond belief".

He said: "We have spent a long time working with the government to create laws that make fireworks safer and better for the public.

"This incident is very concerning but hopefully an isolated one."

Northumbria Police said they were aware of the incident, which happened in the Dame Dorothy Street area of Monkwearmouth, but are understood not to be carrying out further inquiries.

I've seen posters on other boards claiming that the guy was a squaddie, just back from Iraq, that he stuck it up his jacksie and then got one of his mates to light it. If that's the case, you'd have thought he'd had enough of potentially being in close proximity to explodey things...
 
Maybe I should start by saying that there isn't a lot to do in Mount Isa, so people tend to make their own entertainment...

Near-nude man runs down street firing crackers from head

A MAN running down the street in nothing but underwear and a bike helmet adorned with exploding fire crackers caused a stir in Mt Isa last night.

Mt Isa Superintendent Les Hopkins said the spectacle began about 10.50pm last night, when the man ran up and down Camooweal Street in the town's city centre.

Supt Hopkins said although the parade sounded amusing and probably looked the same way, it was incredibly dangerous at the time.

"He was running close to one of our main roads, where the big road trains travel," Supt Hopkins said.

"It could have been quite tragic."

Supt Hopkins said the man had not offered an explanation as to why he had attached the fire crackers to his head.

The 22-year-old Mt Isa man was charged with being a public nuisance and having possession of fireworks.

He was bailed and will appear in Mt Isa Court at a later date.


Source: http://tinyurl.com/5qcw3v
 
well you do do get some dont you :lol:

Supt Hopkins said the man had not offered an explanation as to why he had attached the fire crackers to his head.

why the bloody hell did he attach fire works to his head? he could of ended up with serious burns or worse!
 
There were certainly plenty of firework horrors around in the sixties and seventies. I have never fortgotten the little lad of about ten, who was interviewed on a local news programme. He had made the big mistake of carrying a Roman Candle in his trouser pocket. The story was that a stray spark ignited it, though the position of the blue touch-paper makes his luck seem especially bad.

"How do you feel about that night now, Johnny?"
"Gutted."
"Would you have liked to have had a family one day?"
"I suppose so."
"Have you anything to say to the boys watching this?"
"Bollocks!"
"Thank you, Johnny. Now sing us a song!"

Only the last bit was invented. I remember quizzing my mum about why the kid could never have a family. I knew perfectly well but did it to annoy. :devil:
 
'Idiot' firefighter's career in tatters after setting fire to colleague's house in firework prank
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:14 PM on 23rd December 2010

A firefighter has been branded an 'idiot' by a judge after setting a colleague's house on fire for a JOKE by pushing a firework through his letterbox.

Adam Louth's career with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service has been left in tatters after a plan to wake a friend following a night out resulted in a dangerous prank.
In an act of supreme foolishness, he pushed a lit firework through a pal's letterbox while laughing senior colleagues filmed the exploits on their mobiles from across the street. :shock:

When the firework caused an interior curtain to catch fire, his colleague was forced to carry the flaming material through the house as two wheelie bins had been pushed against the exit.
Louth, 26, has since been forced to resign from his £30K-a-year job following disciplinary action.

He and his fellow firefighters had spent an evening out on the town to celebrate Blue Watch colleague Matthew Nash leaving their station at Gainsborough, Lincs, to take up a new post with another force.

Lincoln Crown Court was told that the following morning Mr Nash ignored calls made to his mobile and Louth decided, as a joke, to wake him by pushing a lit Roman candle through his letter box.
But the firework set light to a curtain behind the door, producing flames several feet long.

Lincoln Crown Court heard that Nash, who was in bed watching television, was alerted when the downstairs smoke alarm sounded followed by the upstairs alarm.
After covering his face with a T-shirt, he made his way down the smoke-filled stairway and pulled down the curtain.

He tried to take the curtain out of the house, but realised that two fully-laden wheelie bins had been tied to the front door in such a way as to cause them to empty their contents on him if he opened the door.
The bins had been placed there by two other firefighters.

As a result, he was forced to take the burning curtain back through the house and into the back garden where he extinguished the flames with a bucket of water.
The incident was watched from the station across the road by Blue Watch colleagues who laughed and filmed the episode on their mobiles.

It was several days before senior fire officers learned what had happened and reported the incident to police.

Louth was subsequently charged with arson and lost both his job and his fire service home.

Andrew Scott, prosecuting, said: 'Mr Nash heard his letter box bang four times and shortly afterwards there was a series of popping noises. What he didn't know was that the defendant had dropped a lighted Roman candle through the letter box.'

Smoke damage to the house, used as lodgings by firefighters working at the neighbouring station, was minor and the curtain was destroyed.

Louth of North Hykeham, Lincolnshire, admitted arson on October 31 last year. He was given 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £100 costs.
Judge Sean Morris told him: 'This is a tragic case in the proper Greek sense of the term. You have brought about your own downfall. You acted like an idiot.'

Michael Cranmer-Brown, defending, said: 'It was his life's ambition to be a firefighter.
'He was a retained firefighter from when he was 21 and became full-time in September 2008.
'He has on many occasions put himself in danger dealing with fires. Until this he was described as a model firefighter and had an unblemished disciplinary record.'

He said Louth resigned from his £30,000-a-year job after disciplinary action was commenced against him by Lincolnshire Fire And Rescue. He now works as a delivery driver.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z191e62YxY
 
Wonder what happened to the rest of them?
 
Oban display hitch sets fireworks off at once
6 November 2011 Last updated at 14:51

[video - not too long!]

A technical hitch at the annual Oban bonfire night display set off thousands of pounds worth of fireworks within a minute. :shock:
The show, organised by Oban and Lorn Lions, was expected to last about half an hour and was to be accompanied by music.

After the unexpectedly short display, an announcement was made to inform the crowds that the fireworks were over.
Posters advertising the event had advised that the fireworks at Mossfield Stadium would start at 19:00 prompt on Friday and visitors had been asked to donate generously to help cover the costs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15611160
 
I perticularly liked the last defiant little pink explosion. :lol:
 
I thought that was a pretty cool display.

Reminded me of the naked gun film where the firework factory was on fire and the police are saying "Stand back, there is nothing to see!".
 
Looked like an average 4th of July fireworks display in the US, if you ask me.
 
Free show after Oban fireworks

The company behind a fireworks display in Oban which lasted just 50 seconds has offered to provide another show free of charge later in the month.
A technical hitch meant that all £6,000 worth of fireworks at the bonfire night display went off within a minute instead of the scheduled 20 minutes.

Councillor Roddy McCuish, who helped to organise the show, said the public had been "absolutely brilliant".
He said a free display in Oban would take place on 27 November.
Mr McCuish thanked the company, Pyro 1, for "holding their hands up" over the mistake.
He said: "They are going to come back and do a free display in Oban at no charge over Oban Bay at the end of our winter festival."

The display took place at the town's Mossfield Stadium at 19:00 on Friday.
Mr McCuish said: "It was like daylight. It was absolutely fantastic."
He said when the display stopped after a minute he thought it had "got out of synch" with the music.
"When I did announce 'that was it', people thought I was joking," he said.
"The operative explained to me there had been a terrible malfunction."

Mr McCuish added: "The public in Oban have been absolutely fantastic.
"I was expecting a carry-on but they were fine when I announced that unfortunately 'that was it, put the lights back on'.
"The public were absolutely brilliant about it."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-g ... t-15616697
 
I remember that one. Terrible. Firework importers had been storing almost 200 tons of Chinese fireworks, some of them illegally, in containers, right next to a working class residential area. The place went up like a bomb. 23 people killed and 947 injured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enschede_fireworks_disaster

Enschede is also where they brew Grolsch beer.
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
Enschede is also where they brew Grolsch beer.

Any connection? Is that why Grolsch tastes like gunpowder? :)
 
'Freak' fireworks: Apology after display in Oxgangs Brae goes wrong
[Video: All the fireworks went off at once after a rocket misfired]

Organisers have apologised after a firework display went wrong in Edinburgh.
A rocket at the Pentland Community Centre display misfired and ricocheted into the remaining fireworks, setting them all off at the same time.
The community council said it was a freak accident but it would be reviewing safety procedures.

A girl suffered a burn to the side of her face and was taken to Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
However, no-one was seriously injured in the incident at Oxgangs Brae.
Footage of the event, which took place on Monday evening, has been posted on YouTube.

It is understood that £2,000 worth of fireworks were involved.
In a statement, Pentland Community Centre said: "The management committee of PCC would like to express our sincere apologies for any upset caused following the unfortunate incident at our annual firework display on Monday evening.
"One of the rockets misfired towards the end of the display and ricocheted into the remaining undetonated fireworks, setting them off all at once.
"This was a freak accident, and most regrettable, but this is the first incident we have had in 10 years of holding this popular community event, and we extend our apologies to everyone who was alarmed."

The statement added that safety protocols would be reviewed.
It said: "But it must be stressed that this is a well-organised event, approved by the City of Edinburgh Council and the emergency services, and it is a fact of life that sometimes unforeseen things happen, despite the best of planning and precaution."

Susan Ross, a local resident at the display, said: "My friend and her daughters were standing at the side of the post office and the showers of fireworks were coming over them and they had to jump over the girls to stop the sparks landing on their jackets.

"The next thing I heard was several bangs and then a massive explosion.
"I turned around and everybody was just scattering and running across the road away from it.
"I saw people lifting buggies up off the ground because people had their brakes on the buggies and they were physically lifting their kids by the arms to get away."

She added: "My heart was going along with everybody else. Some of the kids were crying because they did get a fright.
"I do think it should be run again next year, though."

Geoff Crow, director of 21 CC Fireworks, said: "Looking at the video, it clearly could have been a catastrophe.
"I think part of the issue was the fireworks were contained in a very, very close space, which meant all the fireworks cross ignited at once."

He added: "I think what people are trying to achieve with small community events is a sense of community.
"They are trying to sew into the social fabric of society locally and we would commend that.
"If people want to do their own events, there is a lot to be said for training.
"I wouldn't say fireworks for a local community is a bad thing. I think it is an awareness issue of safety."

Cammy Day, Edinburgh City Council's community safety leader, said: "The council is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident at the community-organised fireworks display in Oxgangs last night, which was obviously very alarming for all those involved."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-e ... e-20220853
 
Victorian Strangeness: Strange tale of the 4 July firework disaster

Author Jeremy Clay recounts an extraordinary 19th Century effort at a complicated medical procedure.

He should have known better, even at such a tender age. Stuffing his pocket with firecrackers wasn't a smart idea. Wandering through giddy crowds who were setting off rockets willy-nilly made it worse. But pulling out those firecrackers with a hand holding a lit fuse… well, that was just asking for trouble.

He got it, too. On 4 July 1894, as Montclair in New Jersey celebrated Independence Day, those firecrackers ignited in a riot of red, white and blue flashes.

And at another time, in another place, that may have been where the story of Frederick Griffith came to an abrupt, untimely end, with a few cheerless lines in his local paper detailing his ghastly last moments.

But Freddie's doctor had other ideas.

When Dr Case rushed to the scene, he feared the boy was a goner. But Freddie was made of sterner stuff. And as he clung to life, an ambitious plan began to form in the medic's mind - a skin-grafting venture on an epic scale.

What followed, according to a report in the Gloucester Citizen, was possibly "the strangest contribution made by one set of human beings to another in the whole history of altruism".

Freddie's mum was the first to volunteer. Mrs Griffith - a "handsome, well developed woman," according to one report - offered 100 pinhead-sized pieces of skin from her quivering arm to be grafted on to her 12-year-old son. His dad - the paper neglected to tell its readers about his looks or comment on the wobbliness of his limbs - went next.

And as word spread, the townsfolk of Montclair arrived to make their own donations. Walter Gibson gave 175 pieces of skin; Milton Gibson, 250; John Drake and Frederick Ranney, 300 each. And still more came: Shellman Stewart, Langdon Howes, Murray Sanders, Robert Henning, Albert Wallace. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28166004
 
PERFORMER DRAPES, LIGHTS FIRECRACKERS ON BODY
USA: John Fletcher gets a bang out of firecrackers — especially those he wraps around himself.

The 51-year-old Michigan performer’s act includes setting off 10,500 firecrackers attached to his body, The Detroit News reported.

“I guess I’m a little nuts,” said Fletcher, who goes by the name Ghengis John the Human Firecracker. “I got a little bit of ‘Hey, look at me.’”

He performed last weekend before 300 people and four firefighters at a motorcycle rally in the western Michigan town of Coopersville. It was one in a string of shows that Fletcher said would be his last.

Fletcher said that over 16 years, he has set off 600,000 firecrackers attached to his body. His ribs have been fractured 17 times and once Fletcher says he was knocked unconscious. He has also been burned.

The gravel pit scale operator from Pinckney doesn’t get paid for his performances and asks audiences to donate to charities.

It costs $140 (€103) and takes two weeks to put together his firecracker suit, which are strands of firecrackers glued to four leather sheets that Fletcher hangs over his abdomen, back, and arms. He wears safety glasses and a compressed leather vest.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/quir ... 74620.html
 
Two people die after fireworks explosion at wedding reception
Disaster struck just after the wedding photographs had been taken at the wedding in Cumbria
By Elliot Pinkham
6:44PM BST 31 Aug 2014

A man and a woman were killed after stored fireworks exploded and set fire to a shed during a wedding reception.
Disaster struck just after the wedding photographs had been taken at the home of insurance firm boss John Simpson, 61, after his marriage to Nicole Rothwell, 44.

Around 70 guests fled to safety as the fireworks, which had been stored in a shed at Mr Simpson's home in Ecclerigg, near Windermere, Cumbria, started going off at 3.15pm.

The two bodies were discovered by fire fighters amid the debris of the shed and a nearby car, which were completely destroyed.
The victims, who are reported to be firework technicians and from nearby Kendal, have not yet been identified. It is believed police are relying on dental records to identify the badly burned bodies, which may take several days.

Enid Battersby, who lives next door to Mr Simpson, said the couple had married earlier in the week at a registry office and were celebrating with friends.
“All of a sudden there was an enormous explosion. I have never heard anything like it since the blitz in Manchester,” said Mrs Battersby yesterday (sun).

One of the musicians hired for the reception, who asked not to be named, said: “It was a beautiful day and we were playing on the terrace just after the photographs were taken.
"The bride was in her gown in the garden with the groom and the fireworks just started going off.

“The flamng debris was falling all around. The firework display was spectacular but we were wondering why it was being held in the bright daylight.
“Then we realised something shocking had happened. We grabbed our instruments and ran.”
The musician, from Keswick, added: “Everyone was in complete shock. Nicole was obviously extremely upset.”

Cumbria Police and crews from Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service arrived and the property, which is next door to the Lake District National Park Authority's visitor centre at Brockhole, was cordoned off.

The centre was packed with hundreds of tourists on the last weekend of the summer holidays.
Stuart Halliwell, operations manager at Tree Top Trek, said one of his staff had called 999.
“It must have been awful for the couple on their special day. It is obviously a tragedy but it could have been even worse than it was," said Mr Halliwell.

A spokesman for Cumbria Police said: “Police are continuing in their investigation into a fire at Ecclerigg where two people died.
“Police were called at 3.35pm yesterday after a shed containing fireworks was on fire. A vehicle near to the shed was also damaged by the blaze.
“Two bodies, believed to be a male and a female, were found. Police and the fire service are investigating the circumstances that led to the fire.

Fire engines from Windermere, Ambleside, Staveley and Coniston stations attended and four fire fighters wearing breathing apparatus used two hoses and foam to bring the fire under control.

Neither Mr Simpson, who is thought to be a father of two, or his new wife could not be reached for comment.

Mr Simpson established the Windermere-based insurance consultants' firm Simpson and Parsons back in 1983 with business partner John Parsons and has lived at Larch Cottage for 30 years

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... ption.html
 
Back
Top