Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

FOURTH OF JULY

2 fireworks techs injured in separate incidents

One suffered first-degree burns

By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Injuries to two fireworks technicians marred separate Fourth of July celebrations in central Maine last weekend.

A Readfield man was recovering Tuesday from first-degree burns, cuts and broken bones after a fireworks shell exploded near his face on the Fourth of July in Belgrade.

Thomas Thorndike, 57, an experienced fireworks technician, was lighting fuses Sunday night for the display at Long Pond. The fireworks display, which had just begun, was canceled after the accident.

Another experienced fireworks technician, Charlie Squires, 56, of Augusta broke a finger while working a Fourth of July show at Waterfront Park in Augusta. That show was not interrupted.

Both displays were operated by Central Maine Pyrotechnics, of Hallowell, which did 65 shows last week in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

"It's unfortunate," said company President Steven Marson. "We've been doing this 24 years and we've only had four injuries, including these two. Safety is really the most important thing for the technicians."

Both cases were investigated by the State Fire Marshal's Office, which is standard with all fireworks-related injuries, said Sgt. Ken Grimes. Investigators determined that both were accidents and that the fireworks operations were handled properly, he said.

Thorndike's severe injuries at the Belgrade show, Grimes said, "was the first one in a number of years that I can think of that resulted in substantial injury."

Marson said he spoke with Thorndike on Tuesday morning.

"He's doing fine," Marson said. "He's on his way to the eye doctor. He had some first-degree burns on his face."

The Belgrade fireworks display, at Peninsula Park on Long Pond, started about 9:15 p.m. and was sponsored by the Belgrade Lakes Region Business Corp. The crew was setting the fireworks off on a barge on the water.

Marson said Thorndike has 35 years of fireworks experience, including 20 years as technician at the Belgrade show. It was his first fireworks-related injury.

The show had lasted about five minutes when the accident happened.

Thorndike was using a device called a "cake" -- a package of multiple shots in a box. When he lit the fuse to one, it didn't go off, Grimes said.

As he reached to ignite a second fuse, sparks from an exploding shell fell onto the box's fuse, setting it off. He was struck mostly on the right side of his face by a fireworks shell, Marson said.

Belgrade Fire Chief Daniel Mackenzie, who was watching from the shore, said he noticed "low-flying fireworks" and then everything stopped. Rescue boats patrolling the water got to Thorndike, who was then taken by Delta Ambulance to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta.

Polly Parkhill Beatie, who is also president of the Belgrade Lakes Association, said she was watching the show from her car and said she hadn't realized what had happened and thought she had been seeing the show's finale.

"I had no idea," she said Tuesday. "It's so sad a person got hurt."

Marson said the Belgrade show cost $5,500, which would not be charged to the show sponsor because it was canceled.

At Augusta's show, Squires, a retired Augusta firefighter who has 25 years of fireworks experience, was lighting a group of three fireworks shells tied together with one fuse, called a "flight," when he broke his middle finger.

He was not burned, Marson said.

"We really don't know what happened," Marson said. "He went to the hospital, had his hand checked out."

Although such injuries are rare, "sometimes it does happen," Marson said. "It's the uncertainty of explosives."

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com