Employees of the fireworks company tasked with running July 4th celebrations in Ocean City, Maryland were injured Sunday after said fireworks unintentionally detonated hours ahead of the planned Independence Day display.
WBAL reports the employees suffered minor injuries and refused to be taken to a local hospital, and no other beach or boardwalk visitors were injured as a result of the explosion.
At around 10:30 a.m, firefighters were called to the beach after there were reports that a vehicle was on fire. When they arrived, they found the city’s downtown fireworks display discharging. Ocean City Fire said that the fireworks was “unintentionally detonated” as employees were handling them. Luckily, the entire display didn’t ignite.
People recorded video of the incident. Check it out below.
“Our fire marshals are on the scene and will investigate the cause of the unintentional discharge,” Ocean City Fire Chief Richie Bowers said in a statement that was posted to Facebook. “Prior to the fireworks being off loaded from the vehicle, fire marshals secure a safe zone around the fireworks and put other safety protocols in place. It is this very zone and safety protocols that kept anyone else from being injured.”
Ocean City planned to have fireworks at two locations Sunday but, due to the incident, decided to cancel all firework shows.
