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View Full Version : Pyrotechnics expert and his assistant burned to death



displayfireworks1
01-19-2016, 09:25 AM
I am waiting to hear the results of this inquest. I suspect electric match is to blame.
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A fireworks display organiser and his assistant died following a suspected explosion and fire at the wedding of his business partner, a jury has heard.
Andrew Coates, 41, and mother-of-three Polly Connor, 46, were preparing an evening display within the grounds of John Simpson's luxury cottage in Ecclerigg, Cumbria, near the shore of Lake Windermere, when the incident took place.
Earlier some 75 guests had arrived for the afternoon ceremony on August 30 last year between local insurance boss Mr Simpson, 61, and his bride, Nicole Rothwell, 44.
An inquest in Kendal was told the couple wed at 2pm in a ceremony lasting 30 minutes before guests congregated on the lawn at Larch Cottage while wedding photographs took place within the grounds and near the lake.
But at about 3pm catering staff recalled 'snapping and popping sounds' coming from the area of on outbuilding on site, the court heard.
Shortly after further bangs were heard from the outbuilding - which was partly a storage area for the fireworks - before the situation escalated with multiple explosions and large volumes of smoke as fireworks could be heard 'in all directions'.

Firefighters were called to the scene and later found the bodies of Mr Coates and Mrs Connor near the entrance of the fireworks storage room - with a metal cabinet on top of one of the bodies.
Post-mortem examinations showed the pair, both from Kendal, died from the effects of an explosion and a fire.
Jurors sitting at Castle Green Hotel were told the outbuilding was an L-shaped single-storey wooden construction which was split into three compartments, also containing a garage and another storage room.

Mr Simpson and father-of-one Mr Coates ran a business together named Stardust Fireworks and jointly held a licence to stage displays at Larch Cottage.
The wedding fireworks display was due to take place at 10pm in a rented field at the bottom of Larch Cottage, directly behind the outbuilding.
In opening remarks to the jury, HM Coroner David Roberts said: 'In the course of the preparations of the fireworks some ignited and the consequence was the entire outbuilding and its contents were consumed by fire.'
He added that some issues the jury would need to consider would be what caused the first firework to ignite, the sequence of events thereafter, why the deceased entered the store and why they were not able to leave.
He said the training that Mr Coates received will also be explored along with the question of whether there was a risk assessment for the event itself.
The hearing is set to last up to five days
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/18/20/3050193800000578-3405420-image-a-22_1453149882133.jpg
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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/18/20/304EA0AA00000578-3405420-image-a-7_1453147361765.jpg
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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/18/20/304F251900000578-3405420-image-m-6_1453147317256.jpg

PGH_Pyro
01-19-2016, 01:36 PM
ughhh bummer .

Northern Sky
01-19-2016, 09:58 PM
Such an unfortunate story. That isn't the way things are supposed to go. I'm feeling badly for all effected by this tragedy.

I found this as I am researching music for a wedding display I am doing this summer. Not the kind of motivation I was looking for.

displayfireworks1
10-18-2016, 08:55 PM
I keep searching for the final decision in this and all that turns up is, it was an accident. Can anyone find anything else more exact?

liame
10-18-2016, 09:26 PM
this is the most i can find

"The display organiser, father-of-one Mr Coates, and his assistant, mother-of-three Mrs Connor, both from Kendal, were inside the wooden outbuilding containing a store for the fireworks when it erupted into flames. The second explosion blew off the roof."

"The jury sitting in Kendal returned conclusions of accidental deaths.
They ruled that the explosion rendered both victims unable to exit the store as fire consumed the outbuilding and resulted in a fatal level of carbon monoxide."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3412402/Accidental-deaths-ruling-pair-died-wedding-fireworks-explosion.html

PGH_Pyro
10-18-2016, 10:02 PM
watch out for that mass ignition

displayfireworks1
11-02-2016, 08:40 PM
I did not see a conclusion on the exact cause in that summary.

Northern Sky
11-03-2016, 11:34 AM
I wonder what kind of training they had.
Where they properly handling and storing the explosives?

Was there proper egress?

Were they e-matching in the building?


People who think spicining up a 1.4 hobby with 1.3 without proper training just don't know how close they are to injury and death.

What did "this" community learn from this tragity?

On and on. . .

We will never know.