Explosive birthday celebrations go boom
It was intended as a surprise for his elderly mother’s birthday. It was certainly a surprise for the neighbours, who called police in droves to report a series of explosions.
Police warned residents of a plush area of Waikanae, north of Wellington, to stay indoors on Sunday night while they investigated the reports.
Officers tracked the explosions to Rata St, a normally quiet cul-de-sac, where they found a man ‘‘using commercial-grade fireworks’’.
He said on Monday that the two fireworks he let off were ‘‘the final surprise’’ of ‘‘a surprise birthday party for my mother’’.
Neighbour Marilyn MacDonald said the explosions were huge, unexpected, and so loud they shook the floor in her lounge.
When she spoke to other residents, she was told the blasts were to celebrate her neighbour’s 80th birthday.
‘‘It was bloody noisy ... it was just huge, thunderous.’’
Another neighbour said the fireworks appeared to have been detonated from the grass outside the 80-year-old’s home. A single traffic cone had been set up on the road.
The man who let off the fireworks, who would not give his name, would not comment on police reports that they were commercial grade, or whether he had met the requirements to let off commercial grade fireworks.
Senior Sergeant Chanel Chapman, Kapiti area response manager, said police were ‘‘working with the man involved’’.
They received 17 calls in the space of 15 minutes from 9.30pm on Sunday, reporting loud explosions.
‘‘Due to the nature of the explosions’’, residents who called were advised to remain inside till police found the cause.
Inquiries were continuing, and it was not yet known whether there would be charges, she said.
A spokesman for WorkSafe, which administers requirements for pyrotechnics, said it had been made aware of the incident.
‘‘We are currently making some initial inquiries. If these lead to a discovery of a breach in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, the maximum penalties are three months’ imprisonment or a maximum fine of $500,000.’’