18. Don’t Play With Fireworks (Part 1)
During Harbormaster days, the town will have a fireworks display on July 4th. We work with the fire department to keep everything safe. The city will put a barge with 2,000 mortars on it. The Coast Guard, State Environmental Police, and several local police with boats will join us in setting up a backing area around the barge for the show. We usually sit around with the best seats in the house because nothing serious happens.
However, while we were all sitting there celebrating, I noticed a small fire in front of the barge. One of the crew members ran past this barge with a fire extinguisher in hand. He threw the fire extinguisher at the fire and started running back to the protected area. Before he returned, there was a massive explosion. Everyone started racing to get the crew. The remaining fireworks began to explode. We didn’t arrive in time to stop the incident. One of the HM Assistants was yelling at the team to get off the barge. Dozens of fireworks exploded, and you could feel the intense heat with each shot.
