LAYTON, Utah, July 25, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — While dramatic, a fireworks mishap at a Layton city park resulted in only minor burns after a malfunction ignited a stack of waiting fireworks.
The incident was not a professional event, Layton City Fire Department Battalion Chief Jason Cook said, but a gathering of several groups of private citizens setting off aerial fireworks banned at residences but allowed in designated areas, including Andy Adams Park.
In all, about 100 people or more were on hand when one man’s launch malfunctioned, igniting the rest of his stockpile, which then was sent spewing sideways, Cook said. Video captured on scene showed the malfunction sent one rocket skyward 50 feet or more.
“It seemed quite spectacular,” but Cook told Gephardt Daily the video likely sensationalized the incident. Only two people were injured, he said, suffering minor burns that were treated at the scene and did not require a hospital visit.
An ambulance, plus four fire trucks, was part of Layton fire’s initial response to the event, which was dispatched as an explosion, Cook said. Most of the units were canceled en route, he said.
The man whose fireworks accidentally deployed all at once was not cited, as his materials and handing were legal, Cook said.
“It was just an unfortunate mishap.”
As the fire department has done for years for the private gathering at Andy Adams Park, a brush fire truck and fire inspector were assigned on standby at the park.
Video courtesy Adam Cloud
