Regulator: Fireworks blast was preventable
Firm faces fines after Florida deaths
A Florida fireworks display company violated several workplace safety regulations that could have prevented a warehouse fire and explosion last year that left four employees dead and one severely burned, federal regulators said Monday.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered Magic in the Sky to pay $109,375 in fines after an investigation into the Dec. 1 fire in Orlando found the company “failed to protect its employees by following established safety protocols,” the agency said in a statement.
OSHA cited 10 “serious violations,” including a failure to safely store explosive materials, a lack of an emergency action plan and a failure to develop and put in place workplace safety procedures.
“The deaths of four young workers and a fifth worker’s life-changing injuries exposed Magic in the Sky’s systemic failures that likely led to a fire and explosion the company could have prevented, which only adds to the tragedy,” Audrey Windham, the acting director of OSHA’s area office in Orlando, said in the news release.
Magic in the Sky, which is based in Boerne, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
On the night of the fire, officials said that fireworks shot out of the warehouse as emergency crews tried to rescue workers who were trapped inside.
Four employees who were pulled from the burning warehouse died in the hospital within days of the fire, The Orlando Sentinel reported.
The victims were identified as David Gonzalez, 22; Landon Bourland, 24; Lindsey Phillips, 23; and Elizabeth Tiralongo, 22, The Sentinel reported.
A fifth employee, Lindsey Tallafuss, suffered burns over 60% of her body that left her hospitalized for months, according to a lawsuit filed by Tallafuss. OSHA said that the workers had been preparing fireworks for a show when the fire started.
Tallafuss’ lawsuit is one of five filed on behalf of the victims that demand jury trials and that seek at least $50,000 in damages from Magic in the Sky and other defendants, including SeaWorld, which court documents say was a client of the fireworks company. SeaWorld did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
OSHA’s findings appeared to support allegations in the lawsuits that Magic in the Sky and its co-defendants had failed to ensure that the warehouse was suitable for the storage of commercial-grade fireworks and failed to warn employees of the hazards they posed.
Tallafuss’ lawsuit says that Magic in the Sky, “either by their actions or their craven indifference, authorized or permitted the handling, transportation and storage of commercial fireworks in their warehouse and in their parking lot.” The company, it added, “knew or should have known” that doing so “was ultrahazardous and/or inherently dangerous.”