Several people were injured, at least one potentially seriously, after fireworks veered into the crowd at the Freedom Festival’s Stadium of Fire Independence Day celebration in Provo on Thursday. The Jonas Brothers headlined the popular annual show.
Provo Fire & Rescue and Brigham Young University Emergency Medical Services responded to the injuries and Provo Fire & Rescue is investigating the incident, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon. “The Provo Fire Department will comment once a thorough investigation is completed,” the notice said.
The early part of the annual July 4 program went off without a hitch as a youth group sang and parachuters landed on the football field at BYU’s LaVell Edwards Stadium.
But as the singing of the “The Star Spangled Banner” was ending and an elite F-35 jet squadron from Hill Air Force Base flew above the stadium amid fireworks and cannon fire at 8:47 p.m., errant fireworks appeared to hit the east side of the stadium.
Several attendees posted videos of the incident to social media.
Six people were transported to the hospital after the fireworks misfired, Freedom Festival spokesperson Emory Cook told The Associated Press. The Deseret News was unable to confirm the number or extent of the injuries. In response to a request for an update from Freedom Festival organizers, Cook referred Deseret News to the Friday news release.
In a written statement Thursday night, Freedom Festival organizers wrote that “safety is of the utmost importance to us. All pyrotechnics at Stadium of Fire are thoroughly checked before the show, and were rechecked after tonight’s incident. Our thoughts are with those who were impacted, and we are following up with them to make sure they are okay.”
“Our emergency operations center is state-of-the-art, allowing us to practice and train in scenarios such as this,” Lynn Scofield, Provo City fire marshall, said in the release from Provo Fire and Rescue. “We never want an incident such as this to happen, but we prepare by planning and coordinating with Brigham Young University so that if it does, we ensure a timely, effective response.”
Deadly displays
While gatherings like the one held in Provo are considered both safe and fun, such incidents are not unheard of, though injuries are more common during at-home fireworks displays.
USA Today detailed several serious fireworks-related incidents that took place during the July 4 holiday: A man died in Chicago while handling fireworks, while a man from LaSalle County, Illinois, was injured by illegal fireworks. He later died. A man in Madison County, Alabama, was taken by air ambulance to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. A man from South Carolina also died while playing with fireworks.
Jacksonville, Alabama, officials canceled the city’s fireworks show after a pyrotechnician was injured. He is expected to recover, the article noted. And a 10-year-old child in Oklahoma was being treated for burns received from fireworks his family purchased.
“The incidents are among dozens of reported fireworks-related injuries and fatalities reported across the nation during this year’s Fourth of July festivities,” per the article.
The Eastern Idaho News reported that several people at a private fireworks gathering in Rexburg were injured, including children, though none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that in 2023, eight people died and 9,700 people sought treatment for fireworks-related injuries in emergency rooms across the nation.
Which fireworks cause injuries?
In at-home fireworks displays, per the commission, firecrackers cause the most injuries, followed by sparklers. Sparklers, incidentally, burn at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. For a little perspective, glass melts at 900 degrees. The National Fire Protection Association reports that’s how children are most often injured by fireworks.
The association also reports that more than 31,000 fires are ignited each year by fireworks.
Of injuries, 42% are burns, most often to the hands and fingers (35%), followed by injuries to the head, face and ears (22%), eyes (19%), trunk (11%) and legs (8%).
Fires are another risk
In addition to injuries, firework-related fires pose a significant risk to communities, especially during the holidays.
According to KSL, several other human-caused fires have ignited as of Thursday in Tooele, Kaysville, Garland City and East Carbon.
St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker told KUTV that local firefighters responded to 20 firework-related incidents between 8:30 p.m. on July 4 and 3 a.m. on July 5.
Nine of those calls were in areas restricted to fireworks, while two other calls were structure fires.
“The structure fires were on the exterior of the homes, either from brush/yard fire or trash can fire too close to the home,” Chief Stoker told KUTV.
Celebrate safely
Public displays are considered safer than setting off fireworks at home, the National Safety Council says. But if you choose to light your own, the council recommends:
- Adults only or well-supervised older children when it comes to handling fireworks.
- Don’t use illegal fireworks.
- No using fireworks if you’ve been drinking or are otherwise impaired.
- Wear protective eyewear if you’re setting them off or standing nearby.
- Never light them indoors or hold lit fireworks in your hands.
- Do NOT point fireworks at anyone.
- Stay away from flammable materials.
- Light one device at a time, then stay well back.
- If a firework malfunctions, put it out in water anyway. Don’t try to relight it.
- Soak all fireworks, used or not, for a few hours before you toss them out.
- Keep a bucket of water nearby to extinguish fireworks.