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Fireworks Fiasco Raises Questions

Reported by: Douglas Clark
Email: dclark@fox23.com
Last Update: 7/06 10:27 pm

Print Story |

New questions are emerging about the fireworks fiasco at Tulsa's Freedom Fest over the weekend. The question: could the malfunction that ended the show early have been prevented?

In years past, the Tulsa Fire Marshal inspected the fireworks set-up on July 4^th. But due to budget constraints, that didn't happen this year.

The Tulsa River Parks fireworks display started like any other. But after less than 15 minutes, an explosion occurred that was not part of the show.

Officials say one of the 6-inch shells exploded inside its launch tube, igniting a nearby trailer. No one was injured, but the show had to stop.

“They only shot about 25% of their show. They had technical difficulties. They had a fire on one of those trailers is my understanding. And only about a fourth of the fireworks were actually shot,” says Tulsa River Parks Director Matt Meyer.

The company that performed the show was A&M Pyrotechnics, out of Missouri. An investigator from the Tulsa Fire Marshal's office inspected A&M employees as they set up the display on Wednesday, making sure it would be far enough away from the crowd and that the company was properly licensed.

But due to budget cuts, the fire marshal did not inspect the display on the 4^th, as it has in years past. Even if he had, he says he may not have been able to catch the problem. That's because the Fire Marshal is not a pyrotechnics expert and the actual explosives are typically set up at the last minute.

The show cost $40,000 to put on. But the River Parks Authority had only paid the company $10,000 prior to the show and does not plan to pay them the rest. River Parks will keep the money for next year's show and will likely not use A&M Pyrotechnics in the future.

The fireworks show was privately funded. River Parks says if any sponsors want their money back, they will work with them on a case-by-case basis.

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