'Faulty fireworks' bring quick end to Chattahoochee show

Chattahoochee’s annual Fourth of July celebration came to a crashing halt Sunday night, after what officials believed to be “faulty fireworks” injured two and compromised the safety of spectators.

An estimated 5,000 people gathered along the banks of the Apalachicola River at River Landing Park in Chattahoochee Sunday night for the festive fireworks display.

Chattahoochee City Manager Lee Garner said the turn out was one of the largest crowds he’s ever seen.

“But what started out fun, turned dangerous quickly,” Garner said. “And we had to shut it down.”

The display put on every Independence Day weekend by the Chattahoochee Volunteer Fire Department has been going strong for the past 30 years. Garner said the crowds grow every year and the show gets better and better.

“Although this year may prove to be a little more memorable,” Garner said. “The show was great up until the incident. The colors were just amazing. But then after three explosions, we shut it down immediately. We’re lucky no one was killed out there.”

About 15-minutes into the usual 45-minute show, a series of three fireworks exploded in their tubes on the ground, and caused a serious scare and some damage as well.
But those weren’t even the first to misfire, Garner said.

About two minutes into the show, a single firework went off in its casing, without ever making it into the air. Although it startled the firefighters shooting off the display, the show continued under the assumption that the single rocket was faulty.

But about 13 minutes later, three of five rockets being fired together for a more colorful display also exploded in their casing on the ground causing the “shoot-off stand” to explode.

Garner says the “shoot-off stand” blew to pieces. It was made of wooden crates used to boost the rockets up off the ground for safe ignition. The projectile wood chips dented the parked fire truck and sent many to the ground ducking for cover.

“People could have been seriously injured or even killed,” Garner said. “We were so lucky nothing like that happened. But it certainly scared us all.”

After the second mishap, Garner called an end to the fireworks display.

Two firefighters have reported minor injuries as a result of Sunday’s incident. Garner says one has a busted eardrum and another has a few abrasions on his hand, both being reported as minor injuries. As of Wednesday afternoon, no other injuries had been reported.

The fireworks were purchased from Pyrotecnico — a fireworks provider headquartered in New Castle, Pa. with an office in Montgomery, Ala.

Garner says the city has always purchased their fireworks from Pyrotecnico and has never had a problem prior to Sunday.

“We contacted the company immediately and they sent representatives to come out and investigate the cause of the incident,” Garner said.

The investigation is still on-going, and many unanswered questions still remain as to what caused the serious mishap.

“We don’t know if we just got a bad batch or if they did or what,” he said. “Their representatives are tracking the purchases made to see what may have happened.”

Garner says that before next year’s show, city personnel may hire professionals to put on the show. If not, Garner plans to at least provide the city personnel with additional training for better preparation in emergency situations.

Other changes may be made based on the information gained from the investigation, he said.

“I can’t compromise the safety of our personnel or our spectators,” he said. “So we will be looking into this further and making changes before any planning is done for next year’s show.”