1 dead, 2 injured in Thurston County fireworks plant explosion
Jun 18, 2014, 11:15 AM | Updated: 2:33 pm
An explosion at a Tumwater fireworks plant Wednesday morning has killed one and injured two others. (Photo courtesy Drew Mikkelsen/KING 5 News)
(Photo courtesy Drew Mikkelsen/KING 5 News)
One person is dead and two others hospitalized after an explosion at a fireworks plant near Tenino, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reports.
The 74-year-old man died while awaiting an airlift to a regional trauma center, Thurston County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Greg Elwin said. Two others were hurt in the explosion in unincorporated Thurston County south of Olympia, between Tumwater and Tenino, and have been taken to hospitals.
The explosion happened around 9:50 a.m. at Entertainment Fireworks at 13313 Reeder Road.
Representatives from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the state Department of Labor and Industries are investigating.
“Right now this appears to be non-criminal and non-intentional — an unfortunate accident related to this type of business,” Elwin said.
The explosion happened while a truck was being loaded with fireworks to be taken to a show, he said. Something unknown ignited a firework and started a fire and explosion, Elwin said.
More people could have been hurt and more buildings damaged if the company hadn’t been following regulations that require fireworks transfers to happen away from other buildings and other explosives, he said.
The man who died was a long-time employee of the company, Elwin said.
A 25-year-old man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with burns and trauma, Elwin said. A younger man was taken by private vehicle to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, he said.
Mark Rorvic, 54, who lives across the street, told The Olympian that he awoke to the sound of the explosions.
“All of a sudden, all hell broke loose, and it was boom, boom, boom, boom,” he said. “Horrific — it’s the only way I could say it.”
Rorvic said he used to work for the fireworks company, which puts on professional shows.
A call to Entertainment Fireworks was answered by someone who said they had no comment at this time. On its website, Entertainment Fireworks says it’s the largest fireworks company based in Washington. It puts on fireworks displays and distributes fireworks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
