Were Fireworks Too Close for Comfort?

By now, most everyone knows of the horrible fireworks accident in neighboring Upper Merion.

Who knows the rules on how close to people and homes fireworks can be detonated?

To be honest, the township who does their fireworks at the greatest distance from homes and people is Radnor. Radnor Township fireworks are very beautiful. Narberth aslo does fireworks, but they seem much closer to people and homes because the area IS densely populated.

Here is Bonnie Cook's Inquirer article:

Cause found in firework blast
Investigators said a "salute" fell and detonated in the Upper Merion crowd, injuring 15 people, 1 seriously, during a July 4 show.
By Bonnie L. Cook
Inquirer Staff Writer

The blast that injured 15 onlookers during Fourth of July fireworks in Upper Merion was caused by an "errant projectile" that fell during the township display into the crowd before exploding, authorities said yesterday.

Police and township officials said a fuse that should have caused a fireworks device called a "salute" to go off in midair during the show's finale did not trigger on time.

Instead, the apple-sized device, which appears as a loud white bang when it bursts in the air, detonated after falling to the ground.

Authorities credited the 11-year-old son of the township's cable-TV director for shooting the videotape that helped police piece together what caused the mishap.

The video made by Andrew Herbert, a sixth-grader at Wissahickon Middle School in Lower Gwynedd, showed a pattern of loud flashes followed by one delayed flash coming from the crowd, and onlookers exclaiming, "Oh my God."

The explosion seriously injured a 31-year-old man as he folded his picnic blanket. The man, whose identity was being withheld by police, was taken by helicopter to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he was in serious condition yesterday following hand surgery.

Four others required hospital treatment. Ten people were treated at the scene by medics for minor injuries. Police said the injuries included a punctured eardrum, burns, lacerations, and eye irritation. The ages of those treated ranged from 8 to 43.

Authorities did not know what caused the fireworks device to misfire. Officials at Lorusso Fireworks of Netcong, in Netcong, N.J., which staged the show, did not return phone calls yesterday.

"This was an unfortunate accident and something we did not want to occur," township manager Ronald G. Wagenmann said at an afternoon news conference.

He said the township would be evaluating the fireworks company's performance, and would decide later whether to hold the $11,000 fireworks show next year.

David Broida, the township's park and recreation director, said Lorusso had produced the fireworks display without incident since 1997.

"At about that time, we asked around to other municipalities. Lorusso worked for other municipalities in the area, and that's why we hired them," Broida said.

Two witnesses who attended with their families reported seeing fragments of a fireworks device fall to the ground.

.....Investigators from the Upper Merion Police Department, the Philadelphia Bomb Squad, the Montgomery County Bomb Squad and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked all night seeking the cause of the explosion, said Upper Merion Detective Sgt. Jeff McCabe.

SAC Note: this is why authorities always say leave fireworks to the professionals - and even when the professionals do it sometimes there are accidents