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View Full Version : 2009 pyrotechnician deads still not settled



displayfireworks1
02-09-2014, 11:02 AM
I am shocked that from 2009 this tragic event resulting in pyro-technician death is still not settled. I will copy and paste the most recent article. Confidential information I received on this case is both of the fireworks experts ask for opinions on this case agree the electric match (igniters) are the cause of the event. While electric match is purported to be a safe alternative to hand lighting fireworks it also carries a high amount of risk for accidents. Usually the electric match accidents occur from tearing down a fireworks display that was not fired for one reason or another. I know of at least one company that instructs its workers to fire the display and not tear it down if electric match is installed. They will deal with a non paying sponsor later. Then there is the issue of should the electric match be install at the plant and the fireworks transported with the igniters installed, or should the technicians install the match in the product at the shoot site. I personally would rather install the match on the site. I do not like to transport product with igniters installed. Using this accident as an example, are the workers at the plant installing igniters out in a field or are they installing them inside of a working magazine with potential for a similar accident.
Other key issues on this case, who trained these people and are they employees or subcontractors. It would be interesting to hear from an attorney on this case. The little bit of legal I know and it appears to follow that flow in this article is, this may be one time where the fireworks company may want to actually call you an employee. Why, because most states have workers compensation laws that limit what you can receive if you are injured or die in your course of employment. When you are injured on the job you are usually not entitled to pain and suffering damages etc, you are also bound to have your case heard within the workers compensation system. A workers compensation "Referee" makes decision on your case. If the injured party can get their case heard outside of the workers compensation system others factors of the death or injury can be considered. This case illustrates issues we should all think about.
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RALEIGH, N.C. Negligence lawsuits filed by representatives of three workers who died and one person who survived an explosion inside a truck carrying July 4 fireworks to a North Carolina barrier island display can continue, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The three judges unanimously sided with the estates of Mark Hill, Lisa Simmons and Charles Kirkland Jr. and with the injured Martez Holland. They are seeking damages against a pyrotechnics company hired to put on the show on Ocracoke Island in 2009.

The case will return to court for possible trials barring a change. The state Supreme Court isn't required to hear an appeal of Tuesday's opinion.

Four workers inside the truck containing nearly 700 pounds of fireworks died, while Holland was blown out of the back of the truck and suffered third-degree burns. Federal investigators blamed a small explosion involving electric igniters being pushed into the fireworks for triggering a larger explosion inside the truck.

The estates' administrators and Holland sued South Carolina-based East Coast Pyrotechnics Inc., formerly known as Melrose South Pyrotechnics, the company that was hired by an Ocracoke community group to put on the show.

The plaintiffs said those killed and Holland received no safety training from Holland's uncle, Terry, who was also among those killed. He planned to put on the Ocracoke Island show for Melrose, had put on previous shows for the company, and should have known not to work in the back of the truck, the plaintiffs argue. Melrose South agreed to pay $42,000 in penalties through a settlement with the state Department of Labor for safety citations.

"The families have had a very difficult time," said Al Thomas Jr., a Wilson attorney representing the administrators of Hill's estate. "They are eager to tell their story and let a ... jury listen to them, and that's the only way they're going to approach closure."

A trial judge in Wayne County denied motions by East Coast Pyrotechnics to reject the plaintiffs' claims. The company appealed, saying there were no facts to support claims of negligence or negligent hiring of the crew for that project.

Writing for the panel, Judge Linda McGee said there were unresolved issues over the facts in the case, in particular whether Hill, Simmons, Kirkland and Martez Holland were company employees or independent contractors.

The difference is important because if they are determined as employees, the estates and injured worker would be obliged to use the state's workers' compensation system. The compensation is based on the workers' employee income, which would be small in this case. Even if they are labeled employees, the plaintiffs' attorneys argue, they should be allowed to seek damages because the company still intentionally engaged in misconduct that was very likely to cause death or serious injuries.

"Genuine issues of material fact remain to be determined in the trial court as to the nature of the relationship between plaintiffs and defendants," McGee wrote. Judges Robert C. Hunter and Rick Elmore agreed with the opinion.

Daniel Katzenbach, an attorney representing East Coast Pyrotechnics, said he had not read the case and declined comment. A phone message left at company headquarters in Catawba, S.C., wasn't immediately returned
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http://images.news14.com/media/2013/7/4/images/Ocracoke_fireworksc88e9b61-1f3c-4ad6-960f-85bcb72afada.jpg
Martez Holland
http://media.hamptonroads.com/cache/files/images/322781000.jpg
http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/images/wtvd/cms_exf_2007/news/6900150_600x338.jpg
http://media.hamptonroads.com/cache/files/images/321391000.jpg
http://lighthousegetaway.com/lights/NC/ocra_air38.jpg

displayfireworks1
02-09-2014, 11:09 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ThtcqRXDc

displayfireworks1
11-30-2014, 07:40 PM
I have been following this unfortunate fireworks accident that occurred 5 years ago in 2009. One of the key questions I was waiting to be answered was, are pyro-technicians employees or subcontractors? The case is also significant if the deaths were to be covered by workers compensation or other forms of litigation.The case recently settled before the answer of employee or contractor was answered. I am working on a future video to discuss the significance or all of this as it applies to pyro-technicians, crew chiefs and the company. Here are some links and video. My confidential sources tell me electric match was to blame. The crew was seeking refuge from the sun working in back of the truck. One person survived, you will hear him in this video from 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Es2KJZBMQ
"I just seen a pop," Holland said as he explained what happened. "When I seen the pop, that's when I jumped off the back of the truck."
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Link to attorney website, scroll down to case
http://www.justicecounts.com/appeals.html
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http://www.wcnc.com/story/news/local/2014/06/19/10924029/
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- North Carolina's Division of Occupational Safety and Health has fined the fireworks company whose four workers died in an explosion in July on Ocracoke Island.

Friday the Department of Labor fined Melrose Pyrotechnics of York County, SC almost $45,000 dollars for safety violations that may have led to the blast.

Safety inspectors cited the company for nine serious safety violations including having a cigarette lighter, a motorcycle battery and possible static electricity near the fireworks.

But a Labor Department spokeswoman tells NewsChannel 36 that investigators cannot say with certainty what caused the fatal explosion.

Melrose Pyrotechnics has 15 days to decide whether to pay the fine, fight it or negotiate a lesser penalty.

The fatal fireworks accident prompted NC lawmakers to give the Commissioner of Insurance the authority to license fireworks displays inside the state.

That law takes effect in February.

A spokeswoman for the Insurance Department says companies with previous fatal accidents could not be barred from being licensed for future fireworks shows. But Johanna Royo says the law gives the Insurance Commissioner the authority to revoke licenses in the future.
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The more I look into these professional fireworks accidents, I see more and more involve electric match in some fashion. We also see what is kept in the back of the truck is also scrutinized to a major degree if an accident occurs. I am curious if someone cares to comment. For those that work at a professional fireworks company that places the electric match in the product before it is shipped to the shoot site. Are you in a "Working Magazine" placing match alongside multiple boxes of product? We now have to wonder, is it safer to insert electric match at the shoot site?
I am looking at the pictures and video, did they not have the fireworks in the very back of the truck? It also looks like they did not even take the racks off of the truck? Most trucks I have unloaded have the product in first in the back with the racks in front. You usually have to take the racks off first to get to the fireworks, it also gives you more room in the truck.

wizard7611
11-30-2014, 11:17 PM
Wow. This is really sad, but I can't believe they would let this happen.:(

displayfireworks1
03-01-2015, 10:57 PM
This is my most recent video about the Ocracoke fireworks accident of 2009.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2Is5kNP3fY
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Here is a link to the paper I am referencing in the video. I believe these standards are based from an IRS document.
http://www.krwa.net/downloads/downloads/Twenty%20Factor%20Checklist%20to%20Determine%20Ind ependent%20Contracto%E2%80%A6.pdf
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http://www.insperity.com/image/174/219/Ensuring-Compliance-Around-Independent-Contractors_302x640.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/ContractorLedDesignBuildArchEmployee.jpg
http://octaxlawattorney.com/images/which-one.jpg

PyroManiacs
03-02-2015, 09:51 AM
Our trucks are loaded racks first.... then product.

Our product is the first thing to come off the truck.

displayfireworks1
03-03-2015, 09:40 PM
Or its the first thing to stay on the truck?
I know Zambelli loads the product in first, then adds a sheet of plywood standing up, then adds the racks. If I had to speculate, I would say they had their backs to the racks that were still in the truck. The fireworks were between them and escape. It would seem strange to sit with your back to the open part if you were working in the truck.
I ran a video one year ago about how electric match is used professional around the world. There is no real world wide standard. Read some of the responses on the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FPMZQlaooc
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Access comments with this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FPMZQlaooc