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Fireworks: Foolishness, Fails & Fatalities

What happens when you set off all the fireworks by accident.

 
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Maine man killed after trying to launch firework from top of his head
Devon Staples, 22, died instantly after placing mortar tube on his head and setting it off, officials say, in first fatality since state legalized fireworks



A Maine man was killed when he tried to set a firework off from his head. Photograph: Greg Kendall-Ball/EPA
Associated Press in Calais, Maine

Sunday 5 July 2015 15.22 BSTLast modified on Sunday 5 July 201517.51 BST
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A young man who was drinking and celebrating the Fourth of July tried to launch a firework off the top of his head, fatally injuring himself, authorities said on Sunday.

Devon Staples and his friends had been drinking and setting off fireworks on Saturday night in the backyard of a friend’s home in the small eastern Maine city of Calais, said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state department of public safety.

Staples, 22, of Calais, placed a fireworks mortar tube on his head and set it off, McCausland said.

The firework exploded, killing Staples instantly.

His death is the first fireworks fatality in Maine since the state legalised fireworks on 1 January 2012, authorities said.

Calais is on the Canadian border near New Brunswick.

State fire marshals were investigating several other Fourth of July fireworks accidents involving injuries in Friendship, Jefferson, Lebanon and Woodstock. They said most of the accidents involved burns and eye injuries. McCausland said further details were expected to be released later on Sunday.

In 2011, lawmakers voted to repeal a 1949 state law banning fireworks, reasoning that the industry would create jobs and generate additional revenue.
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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/05/maine-firework-kills-man-head
 
I saw some crazy kids doing exactly this firework stunt on Youtube.
My first thought at the time was 'they have a lot of faith in the quality of those rockets'. :eek:
 
Smokin' hot...
 
That gif sums up my ex's sexual career.
 
I once went to a Halloween night party where the host just threw all of the fireworks on the bonfire then told us to run (no kids present).
 
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cycleboy2 said:
This is a strange crime and/or an act of gross stupidity: a New York resident using illegal fireworks accidentally shoots one... through his own window. Damien Bend was later arrested for arson of his own house, which going by the video is going to need more than a lick of paint.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...hooting-illegal-firework-through-window-video
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Digression. Sometime round about 1961, Guy Fawkes Night. Grandparents round, bonfire, fireworks, the usual stuff. It is decided to keep the box of fireworks in the kitchen 'for safety' because it is quite windy. And it might well have been safer had Granddad not, quite early in the proceedings, dropped the lighted taper in the box.
 
This Pennsylvania news article is vague about how this man attempted to launch a firework off his groin and what exact injuries were caused. Nonetheless, I think it's a good bet that he's due a non-lethal Darwin Award as formally defined.
The Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honor originating in Usenet newsgroup discussions around 1985. They recognize individuals who have supposedly contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool by dying or becoming sterilized via their own actions.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards

Man severely injured after trying to launch firework from his groin, Pocono cops say

A Pennsylvania man was severely injured after trying to launch a firework from his groin on July 4th, Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department report.

Police were called ... Sunday to assist an ambulance called for a firework-related injury with heavy bleeding at a home ... in Mount Pocono.

Police said there was a “large gathering at the home,” and aerial fireworks were being discharged as officers arrived.

Antonio Giannelli was inside the house, and had suffered injuries and burns after he attempted to launch a rocket from his groin ...

Police said the 37-year-old from Wilkes-Barre was flown by medical helicopter to a local hospital for treatment.

Giannelli faces a citation for discharging fireworks in violation of a Mount Pocono firework ordinances ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/ne...rying-to-launch-firework-pocono-cops-say.html
 
An ice hockey goaltender died after a firework malfunction.

"Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks has died after a "fireworks malfunction" at a Fourth of July party.

An initial autopsy carried out on the 24-year-old on Monday found he died as a result of chest trauma caused by a fireworks blast.

He had been in a hot tub at a house party in Novi, Michigan, at the time.

Initially Michigan police said Kivenieks, a Latvia international, had died from a head injury suffered while getting out of a hot tub.

"There appears to be some fireworks that accidentally went off and launched in the direction of Mr Kivlenieks and others who were seated in the hot tub," lieutenant Jason Meier said."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/ice-hockey/57725848
 
Word to the wise ... If you've got a large firework ignited indoors and throw towels over it, don't hold the towels in place with your hand. Instead - simply duck ...
Man hurt when large firework explodes inside apartment

A man was hurt when a large firework went off inside his friend’s apartment Friday.

Just before midnight, Seattle fire medics were called to an apartment building ...

The man and his friend had left a firework on the counter too close to a hot stove. When they realized the fuse had been lit, they tried covering it with towels to prevent it from exploding.

The victim was holding a towel on the firework when it exploded, and his hand was seriously injured. ...

According to a neighbor, the man and his friend had been using drugs all night. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/ma...-inside-apartment/EXXUAEHLSNAAXBS3D6UM65HZHQ/
 
This Russian supermarket chain decided to sell New Years fireworks in their stores. It hasn't worked out well ...
Fireworks in aisle three! Massive explosions rock crowded Russian supermarket as rockets and crackers catch fire - though one customer is determined to finish his weekly shop

This is the dramatic moment fireworks exploded in a supermarket crowded with 500 shoppers - although one shopper continued unperturbed.

Sparks flew around the Lenta store in the Russian city of Tomsk, causing panic.

Shoppers abandoned their trolleys and ran for cover as the supermarket turned into a war zone, with rockets streaking over the aisles. ...

The fireworks were on sale for the New Year holiday but the reason they ignited was not clear.

Hero shoppers reacted to grab fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.

'The staff behaved like stupid sheep and were at a loss what to do, but shoppers rushed to douse the fire,' said one witness.

Worryingly, it is the second time in three days that fireworks have ignited in Lenta stores in the city. ...
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FULL STORY (With Photos & Video): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...rowded-Russian-supermarket-fireworks-off.html
 
A Nebraska teen was cruising a high school lighting fireworks and tossing them out of his car. One of the fireworks bounced into the back seat where he'd placed his big box of fireworks, and ...
LPD responds to car fire at Lincoln Southwest Highschool

Lincoln Police responded to a car fire at Lincoln Southwest Highschool on Friday.

According to LPD, a 17-year-old male, in possession of the vehicle, was lighting and throwing fireworks out of the vehicle at around 10:31 p.m. While attempting to throw one of the lit fireworks out of the vehicle, the firework bounced into the back seat where it landed next to a one-foot-by-one-foot box of fireworks.

The 17-year-old exited the vehicle and the box of fireworks began to ignite, setting the car on fire.

The vehicle was a total loss.
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SOURCE: https://www.1011now.com/2022/02/05/lpd-responds-car-fire-lincoln-southwest-highschool/
 
I want to see one of these Yonshakudama:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1531741489046474757

When I was in Shanghai for the New Year (several years back), they miscalculated something or other and we all got showered with hot sparks at the end. No damage to me personally, but it stung my bare arms.

Being China, they couldn't complain.
 
A Washington (state) teen lost his hand as a result of handling fireworks.
Fire officials: teen loses hand while playing with fireworks

A 14-year-old lost his left hand and injured his other hand while reportedly playing with fireworks, South King Fire said Monday afternoon.

Firefighters were called ... A firework had blown up in the teen’s hand.

A 10-year-old was also injured, but it is unclear how bad the child’s injuries were ...

Both kids were taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. It is not yet known what kind of fireworks the teen was handling. ...
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FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-18ce4d71866c97192582d4416c15f543
 
When my kids were little we met at my parents and my brothers helped my kids and nephews light sparklers and then they set off small bottle rockets for the kids to watch, then we noticed a neighbor on the other side of the next street was shooting off illegal stadium fireworks from their roof. We enjoyed the show and then got an added bonus of watching their roof catch fire and the fire department coming to put the blaze out.
 
A truck carrying fireworks caught fire on a New Jersey expressway, causing an impromptu light show and closing the highway for hours.
Fireworks shoot from truck that caught fire on New Jersey highway

Drivers on a New Jersey highway got an unexpected light show -- and hours of delays -- when a truck carrying a load of fireworks caught fire.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation said the truck's trailer caught fire about 10:45 p.m. Sunday on southbound Interstate 287, near Exit 14 and Route 22 in Bridgewater. ...

Video recorded at the scene shows fireworks shooting out of the trailer, illuminating the area.

Drivers were stuck behind the scene of the fire for hours and the roadway remained partially closed for clean-up during the morning commute Monday.

No injuries were reported. ...
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FULL STORY (With Video): https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/06/27/fireworks-truck-fire-Bridgewater-New-jersey/6371656357913/
 
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