Inspection Detail

Inspection: 106559685 - Fireworks Partners Inc. Dba Mad Bomber

Inspection Information - Office: Fairview Heights Area Office

Investigation Summary

At about 9:15 p.m. on July 3, 1997, Employees #1 through #4 and a coworker began putting on a fireworks display from a barge approximately 375 ft due west of Riverfront Park in Alton, IL. When it was nearly over, Employee #1, the crew chief, climbed up and over the 4 ft high coaming to access the barge's unguarded prow, where seven 8 in. mortars were located. At approximately 9:30 p.m., he used a hand-held road flare to ignite the fuse of the first mortar, and then the second. When he lit the third mortar, it only reached a height of 10 ft before it started to descend. Employee #1 yelled "fire in the hole," as the shell hit the deck of the barge, landing between the "ready box" that contained additional shells and the 4 ft coaming on the starboard side. The shell exploded upon impact with the steel floor, and Employee #4 and the coworker immediately ran for the side of the barge, climbed over the coaming, and escaped into the water. The coworker eventually made his way to the stern of the barge and was rescued. Employee #4 hung onto the side of the barge, and sustained an injury to his right ankle. Employee #3 was killed where he stood, consumed by the flames generated in the numerous explosions that followed. Employees #1 and #2 both leaped off the prow of the barge and drowned; neither were wearing life preservers. Their bodies were found downriver the next morning.

Keywords: BURN, BARGE, FIREWORKS, WORK RULES, EXPLOSION, DROWN, LIFE JACKET, PYROTECHNICS, MECH MALFUNCTION, ANKLE