A firework shell explodes near a crowd of people in Charles City, Iowa on Friday, July 4, 2008, during its Fourth of July Fireworks Display, just as the show was gearing for the finale.
Watch the videos at YouTube. The first video ("Charles City Fireworks gone bad 2008") was supposedly captured by someone from a distance. The person says,
Fireworks goes terribly wrong at about the 20 minute mark of a 30 minute display. We thought we were wathcing from a safe distance of about 2 blocks across the river when all of a sudden massive amnounts of the fireworks go off on the ground sending many to the hospital and some had to be airlifted. The video goes black as I try to cover up my wife as the fireworks were hitting the rocks just in front of us. No one in our group was injured. Please pray for the injured.The second video ("Charles City, Iowa's 4th of July fireworks") is an aerial video.
Read more:
- Charles City Fireworks Mishap Injures 37
- 37 injured in Iowa fireworks misfire
In another accident, Five people were injured in a fireworks accident in Union Township, Clermont County, on Friday night. The incident happened in the 4400 block of Shepard Road just after 9:30 p.m. Officials said an illegal mortar firework exploded in a tree near ground level. A woman burned over half her body and a child were transported to local hospitals. Three others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
I have never understood why my countrymen insist on celebrating our independance by blowing things up. It gets worse every year and Friday night, my nice, quiet, middle class neighborhood sounded like a battlefield for four straight hours. Utter stupidity. And it isn't just on the fourth of July I have to suffer this stupidity. Since my state legalized the sale of fireworks, people now celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus by blowing things up. And it isn't just bottle rockets and firecrackers nowadays; these idiots can buy the heavy shells used in professional shows. I cringe at the thought of some drunk redneck lighting a fuse and calling "hey y'all watch this!" No one seems to care that on every holiday, the emergency rooms in the area fill with those injured by fireworks. It is only a matter of time before in my neighborhood (or one like it) several houses are going to be destroyed by fireworks. If it can happen to the pros, it will happen to the amateurs. Do I not have a right to be protected from morons "having fun?" It's time to ban all fireworks in the U.S., except for professional shows and even those apparently need closer scrutiny and regulation.
ReplyDeleteanonymous: I guess you had a hard time sleeping when the first fireworks started to go off.
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