Here's a list of the most horrible accidents that have been caught on tape involving fireworks. Fireworks are a staple of celebrations here in the U.S. and throughout the world, but something that people tend to forget about them is that THEY ARE EXPLOSIVES. So turn on Stars & Stripes Forever and enjoy the explosions and the horrible, horrible tragedies (in no particular order).
Enschede, Holland has a problem. First off, no one I've spoken to has a clue how to pronounce the name of the town. Secondly, someone thought stockpiling more fireworks than Wil E. Coyote was a good idea.
23 people tragically died, but that's what happens when your town has a building labeled Firework Depot.
In May of 2000, a small fire led to two massive explosions at the SE Fireworks Depot in Enschede, Holland, leaving 23 people dead, including 4 firemen. 947 people were injured and an estimated 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, leaving over 1250 people homeless. And at least one animated character without the means necessary to catch himself a road runner.
The residents didn't even know that there was a fireworks factory located next to their homes (they thought it was a depot from the beer factory). Since Beer smells so much like gun powder, right?
2 Killed in North Carolina Fireworks TRUCK Explosion
A fireworks truck (that's right, more REALLY intelligent upkeep of fireworks going on here, people) exploded, killing 2 workers and hurting 3 others as they prepared for the 4th of July fireworks display on the Ocracoke docks.
Witnesses say the blast could be heard across town and the Associated Press quoted some random person with absolutely no expertise in the field who said that it sounded like "40 minutes of fireworks went off in 40 seconds".
Unfortunately, further commentary from this master of all things firework could not be obtained.
Amateur and Fireworks are two words you never want to hear together. Unless you own stock in America's Funniest Home Videos (Is that possible? Can you buy stock in a tv show?).
$3,000 worth of fireworks blew up in the 2 car garage of a man who wears American flag bandanas (FUCK YEAH). His brother in law, was apparently the guy who set the whole thing off.
I imagine the scenario going down something like this:
"Hey Bob, where should I put these fire works. Awesome Flag bandana by the way."
"Thanks, the bandana matches the underoos. Put 'em down anywhere but on the water heater."
"Gotcha, on the water heater it is."
The homeowners somehow escaped unhurt, but face possible felony charges. Apparently they've been doing this display for the 4th of July every year for "many, many years".
Scroll to 01:21 in the video, for a local neighbor's reaction who had no idea that this many fireworks were being kept near her. According to the woman she either thought it was a small engine going out... or a plane. Really? A small engine... or a PLANE? Not sure what kind of car this woman drives, but you better stay the h**l away from whatever kind of engine she has in it.
7 Injured in Fireworks Accident, 2-Year-Old Girl Burned
During a celebration, a large group of fireworks (see video) were gathered on the floor by a group of awesome parents, all the wicks of each explosive being at just about "child-height" level.
After they did this, they set their children (toddlers and the like) to play free in the yard with these fireworks unguarded.
The next course of action: give these children sparklers.
NOBODY could have seen this coming, but a sparkler apparently lit one of the fireworks and they all went off, leaving 5 children and 2 adults injured. This includes a 2 year old girl, who was burned.
A Fireworks FACTORY Explodes in the U.K. Wallerawang
I've always been curious about who works at a fireworks factory. I always picture coal miners with soot covered faces.
In the sleepy town of Wallerawang, a fireworks factory exploded leaving 4 million dollars in structural damages, including broken glass windows, ripped up roof tiles, and doors blown off the hinges that were reported from as far away from the blast as 30km (or 18 and a half miles). And who knows how many soot covered fireworks engineers are out of work thanks to this.
Luckily, no one was injured.
What a great way to celebrate the company's 85th anniversary (and probably this factory's last).
It's safe to say, though, that at least the factory went out with a bang.
1,200 tons of fireworks in a fireworks factory in Kolding caught fire and wiped out an entire suburb in Denmark.
Rumor has it the fire started when someone replaced a coworker's hotdog with a firework, ala Bugs Bunny.
A firefighter was killed in one of the small explosions of this accident.
The person taking this short video captures footage of the explosions happening long after they started. According to this YouTuber, the reason he points the camera away from the fires at times is because the shockwaves of the explosions were throwing him back.
An explosion at an illegal fireworks factory in western India killed 18 people, including 10 children.
The explosion occurred in a workshop set up in a home in a slum and burned down two neighboring homes.
This is a horrible, horrible accident that is tragic and teaches us all the lesson of fire safety and to respect fireworks as explosives, not as shiny things that make boom boom sounds... but...
... if you scroll to 00:52 in this picture show of a video, it almost looks like, despite everything horrible that happened, everything turned out alright and good times were had by all.
Fireworks Factory Destroys Uffculme, Devon England
England's largest fireworks factory exploded into pieces after a tiny spark blew the situation completely out of proportion, setting off over 18,000 pounds (wonder how many grams that is) of fireworks explosives.
13 workers were trapped inside as the fire raged out of control, trapping them in their firey graves for the rest of eternity in a mountain of ash and soot... or so they thought.
After the firefighters brought the fire under control, they discovered that all 13 workers had miraculously gotten out alive.
I smell movie rights! Most obvious choice? Michael Bay.
Scroll to 00:38 for the greatest non-sequitur in this entire video. Sure, it probably made sense in that guy's head, but why would the cruel, cruel people cutting the video together feel the need to KEEP that?
Just as the new year was rolling around, Deputy Officer Eddie Benoit Jr. of New Orleans, was caught in a powerful fireworks-caused explosion, ruining his New Year's Eve and the rest of his life.
He had to leave his post as a deputy, because of his horrible burns. Benoit, 50, is blind in one eye and has limited vision in the other. He's had 32 surgeries to restore his nose and eyelids.
His horrible burns and life-long emotional and physical scars were the price he had to pay for nearby people's need for bright shiny loud explosions.
On the bright side, at least he doesn't have to be a cop in New Orleans anymore.
As a yet another breather from the tragedy that strikes throughout this list, here's a video of a guy brutally burning and scarring mself doing something his buddies probably that was going to look "totally boss".
This guy attempted to light fireworks under a trash can lid (as you do when you're bored as a responsible adult), but the fireworks backFIRED on him (see what we did there).
Apparently, a short fuse isn't just that random baby's problem, it's what caused this accident and what brought mayhem upon this sleveless wonder's face, arms and hands.
WARNING: Video might be a little graphic for the squeamish, as the fireworks tore up his entire hand, as if he'd stuck it down a garbage disposal and peppered his face with pieces of the explosion, probably scarring him for life. Oh, sorry, guess we should've toned it down a little for that "squeamish" warning, huh.
A powerful explosion destroyed an entire fireworks factory and a nearby electronics plant South of Manila in the Philippines, killing at least 6 people and injuring more than 40.
The resulting wreckage looks like something from a war zone in a video game.
The first part of the video is the eerily well-shaped mushroom cloud coming from the explosions themselves.
This kind of goes to show, at this point, that maybe the best place to keep a fireworks factory isn't, you know, "near people" or "around ANY other things".
Short fuses have been the demise of many a suburban daredevil looking to make a cool video, and for many of their friends who stand safely away while they blow off their hands.
Fireworks gone wrong in Belgium.
Luckily, this guy survived. But hey, at least he got what he wanted, right? It was a pretty cool/big explosion.
TOTALLY worth it.
WARNING: this guy ended up tragically disfiguring himself and his hand.
He now kind of looks like this.
So please don't see the "after" pictures if you're squeamish.
Fireworks destroyed a small part of this small town when an entire tent of fireworks exploded, causing dozens to run into the streets like cowards and unlike most people in movies who would most likely walk slowly away from them without looking back, or jump RIGHT at the epicenter of the explosion, allowing them to kind of "surf" the shockwave.
This is kind of why fireworks are illegal in some places. Maybe places where people choose to keep them all out in the COMPLETE open near places where people are either smoking, walking or just hanging out.
So, it seems like there were 4 or 5 sources for this video, all which taped over the other.
Source 1: someone who does NOT want to help anyone and has gotten to safety before everyone else and has a camera phone.
Source 2: America's Funniest Home Videos.
Source 3: The Forbidden Tapes, whose English voiceover makes the people laughing in America's Funniest Home Videos absolutely horrific.
Source 4: Some foreign dude that makes it hard to hear what the English speaker from The Forbidden Tapes is saying.
Either way, the laugh-tracks are probably what make this one of the more disturbing things on this list.
John The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 7/05/2010 12:23 AM
What about the fireworks that blew up in a ware house in a Texas Town several years back killing Joe Lambs Father, a college teacher, a young woman and Joe's beloved dog. Then last year Joe Lamb himself was killed on his motorcycle. You have to feel very bad for his Mother and all that she has gone through in the past few years but she new the love for what Jos and conpany did!. That say if a man whats to do what he does and loves what he does and knows the risks who should say he should not do it and who has the right to judge it? Just like a Policeman, Fireman or Pilot just to name a few. Look at the joy the fireworks displays give to people all around the world. Have you ever looked at there faces and watched the smiles! Some things in life are just not as safe but it is a personal choice we all make.
Fireworkz! The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 7/03/2010 8:14 PM
"heh" and "Nemo" - grow up guys. Fireworks are fun. Sometimes though, like making love to someone you truly care for (like your 8 year old neighbour) can be hazardous. For everyones safety, condoms should always be used. Concerning fireworks, I believe they should have installed more safety features - perhaps "fireDON'Tworks" - these would be unexplosive devices that, when used timely, could deactivate the fun-filled firebombs before anyone got hurt. Love you both, God Bless.
Brit A Fireworks FACTORY Explodes in the U.K. Wallerawang at 7/13/2010 1:08 PM
f**k me... Can't you yanks distinguish between an Australian accent and a British one? ... seriously a town with the name Wallerawang should have given you a clue it wasn't in the UK.
Shawn The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 8/31/2010 1:03 AM
AND THAN? How about AND THEN? Dude, you're stuff is funny & cool, but your consistent misuse of English grammar and your horrible spelling marks you out as a major dumb-ass. Do it right or don't do it at all. -SHAWN-
Dutchy Enschede, Holland. A Fireworks Depot Explodes. at 7/04/2010 3:02 AM
Please be correct in naming the country. The county's actual name is: The (Royal Kingdom of the) Netherlands. Holland is just an abbreviation of two coastal provinces (Zuid-Holland and Noord-Holland) in The Netherlands. Thanks.
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The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 7/05/2010 12:23 AM
2 Killed in North Carolina Fireworks TRUCK Explosion at 7/03/2010 3:29 PM
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 7/03/2010 8:14 PM
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 11/23/2010 3:14 PM
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 7/02/2010 11:34 AM
*is some plebeian writer on a website nobody gives a s**t about*
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 5/23/2011 8:38 PM
A Fireworks FACTORY Explodes in the U.K. Wallerawang at 7/03/2010 2:29 AM
A Fireworks FACTORY Explodes in the U.K. Wallerawang at 7/13/2010 1:08 PM
... seriously a town with the name Wallerawang should have given you a clue it wasn't in the UK.
2 Killed in North Carolina Fireworks TRUCK Explosion at 8/15/2010 9:44 PM
nice.
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 7/06/2010 12:56 PM
Kolding Fireworks Factory Explosion at 7/05/2010 9:47 PM
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 7/02/2010 6:27 AM
A Fireworks FACTORY Explodes in the U.K. Wallerawang at 7/03/2010 10:52 AM
Kolding Fireworks Factory Explosion at 7/02/2010 9:22 AM
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 8/31/2010 1:03 AM
The 13 Most Horrible Firework Accidents at 5/25/2011 4:58 AM
A Fireworks FACTORY Explodes in the U.K. Wallerawang at 7/05/2010 1:07 AM
Enschede, Holland. A Fireworks Depot Explodes. at 7/04/2010 3:02 AM