Fireworks Explosion Esparto California

[displayfireworks1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ufEuJ75xY&list=RDNSDW7uVlNRpVQ&index=7
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I believe this to be the location. You can see the swimming pool in the video
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Co+Rd+86A+%26+Co+Rd+23,+California+95627/@38.6732738,-122.0179348,220m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x8084e86a9f683985:0x 45023f33c7529e1c!2sCo+Rd+86A+%26+Co+Rd+23,+Califor nia+95627!3b1!8m2!3d38.6727304!4d-122.0170554!16s%2Fg%2F11gdx4w5kr!3m5!1s0x8084e86a9 f683985:0x45023f33c7529e1c!8m2!3d38.6727304!4d-122.0170554!16s%2Fg%2F11gdx4w5kr?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAOAjYiQxgc&list=RDNSDW7uVlNRpVQ&index=9
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7154

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If this company is an APA member . Julie Heckman is probably sitting at her computer typing up a press release as we speak.

[Blaster]

First, and maybe foremost.... ;)

Devastating Pyrotechnics???? really???

That's the name they chose, 30yrs ago, for their company! (did someone consult a crystal ball maybe?)

In the Google pic, what are all those containers outside the long buildings? Maybe this was also a farming operation on the site?

How much "manufacturing" could really be going on there? Most of it looked, after the detonation, to be 1.4 stuff? All those launches...

It's sad to see this happen, and they're certainly going to have been people killed with such an explosion in the middle of the work week, will they ever know the source I wonder?

[RalphieJ]

what are all those containers outside the long buildings?

How much "manufacturing" could really be going on there? Most of it looked, after the detonation, to be 1.4 stuff? All those launches...

[RalphieJ]

Shipping containers are commonly used for storage. And those salutes are not 1.4.

[displayfireworks1]

Looking back over the years at these types of events this close to July 4. Electric match is suspect. I never liked the idea of placing match in product and placing back in store getting ready to transport.

[RalphieJ]

Looking back over the years at these types of events this close to July 4. Electric match is suspect. I never liked the idea of placing match in product and placing back in store getting ready to transport.

Reminiscent of the bunker explosion in Newburrgh NY a few years ago, supposedly caused by a worker pulling out the electric match from a shell.

[displayfireworks1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQQ7099A2qQ
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When something like this happens , expect your home to be raided as part of the investigation.

[KDirk]

If this was set off by removing e-match from a shell, it really brings home the risk associated with pyro products. I've never had to remove one I'd already installed (by poking the lift charge in a shell, or bypassing the visco on a cake) but even the act of inserting the e-match carries a certain amount of risk. I know it is heavily cautioned not to do anything to abrade an e-match (or MJG type igntier) as doing so can cause it to light spontaneously. All the more reason to take safety with deadly seriousness.

It does kind of surprised me when a professional firm has an incident like this, as they know the risks, and are held to higher standards by virtue of being ATF licensed and inspected. Not that such licensure and scrutiny can prevent all accidents, of course. But the stakes are very high where failures occur for a company dealing in 1.3 product.

[displayfireworks1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzadVznt1BI

[ixfd64]

Was there some kind of electrical fault that caused e-matches to ignite, or are they particularly sensitive to friction?

[Arclight]

That's an interesting take. I'm not sure why she is so hung up on there being a house next door, assuming it was a hired caretaker or one of the owners. ATF specifically allows this. The idea isn't that the magazine can never cause any harm if there was an accident, it's to minimize the impact.

[KDirk]

Ixfd64- e-matches (and their consumer grade equivalent, MJG Igniters), are susceptible to being triggered by either abrasion/friction against a rough surface, direct impact with a hard surface, and even sufficiently high static electrical discharge. MJG's come with warnings to avoid any of the above conditions in order to prevent unexpected ignition. It's also why they come with the wire leads twisted together so as to be shorted, and help avoid static electric discharge from igniting them. I'll admit I love the convenience of them, but they do still make me a bit nervous when I'm setting up a show. I use a lot of them for direct insertion into the lift charge on canister shells, so that when firing with Cobra the launch is instantaneous, bypassing the visco fuse.

You'll note too, that proper safety practice is not to install or attach e-match/MJG type igniters until the last phase of show setup, so one isn't storing pyro product with them attached (or "poked" into the device) for any significant length of time in order to avoid potential mishaps.

[displayfireworks1]

I have a feeling they edited what she said relative to the narrative they want. If you ever been to some of these places that store and sell 1.3 fireworks they are aesthetic mess so to speak. They for sure do not look like a Phantom Showroom. LOL I am still waiting to hear, what were the duties of those that were working that day. I suspect it was more than moving boxes around. The news media is trying to portray this as some kind of illegal operation.

[ixfd64]

Ixfd64- e-matches (and their consumer grade equivalent, MJG Igniters), are susceptible to being triggered by either abrasion/friction against a rough surface [...]

I figured this was the cause.

Follow-up question: is there any similarity between e-matches and model rocket igniters?

I built a few model rockets as a kid years ago, and I don't recall any concerns about "spontaneous" firings.

[KDirk]

I never did anything with model rockets, so can't speak to whether the igniters used for those are similar. I'm guessing not so much, as MJG Igniters just came in the market a few years ago, and were the first e-match style igniters available directly to consumers, not being heavily regulated by the ATF.

[Arclight]

I figured this was the cause.

Follow-up question: is there any similarity between e-matches and model rocket igniters?

I built a few model rockets as a kid years ago, and I don't recall any concerns about "spontaneous" firings.

Model rocket igniters are pretty similar, but the construction is different. E-match/igniters have a little piece of circuit board that the resistance wire is bonded to, and then the lead wires are soldered to each side. There is also a plastic shroud protecting the tip. A model rocket igniter just has a piece of tape holding the assembly together, and no lead wires (just an inch or so of bare single-strand wire on each leg). The pyrgen material on the tip is probably different too.