Stray fireworks hit multiple people during Stadium of Fire, officials looking into cause
Jul 4, 2024, 9:10 PM | Updated: Jul 5, 2024, 8:06 pm
PROVO — Multiple people were injured by a set of fireworks that veered into the crowd during the Stadium of Fire performance in a Fourth of July celebration Thursday in Provo.
KSL reporters on the scene at the stadium on the Brigham Young University campus said there were multiple injuries, but one person was being transported to the hospital. The person who was seriously injured was hit in the face.
Videos of the events taken by attendees, many recording a jet flyover just as the malfunction started, show several individual fireworks flying into the public seating on the east side of LaVell Edwards Stadium and on the field. The show was part of the annual America’s Freedom Festival which includes fireworks and a concert.
“The number I was given was six. Six people went to the hospital, but I don’t know how serious their injuries were,” Emory Cook, spokesman for Freedom Festival said.
One man, John Dymock, told KSL TV that he witnessed two people who were hit by the stray fireworks.
“He was hit in the chest area; he laid down almost immediately. A guy next to him had a lot of ash and things on his white shirt,” Dymock said. “There was another woman there that her hair was smoldering and on fire and people were trying to pat that out too.”
Later, event officials said they were working to determine what happened. A complete statement from the Freedom Festival states:
Last night at Stadium of Fire, as the national anthem concluded, a firework in the south end of the stadium—that was planned to go off at the end of the national anthem—malfunctioned. Several people were injured. The event was paused until all of those injured received treatment and the remaining fireworks were inspected. We are still investigating why the firework malfunctioned. Our sincere thoughts are with those injured, and we are coordinating with Provo Fire & Rescue to receive updates on their conditions. We thank Provo Fire & Rescue, the Provo Police Department, and BYU security and safety personnel for their quick response last night.
The festival said it has used Stellar Fireworks for its shows and has been partnered for 40 years. It said the fireworks were installed properly before the vent and were inspected and approved by authorities before the show started.
A Stellar Fireworks spokesperson told KSL TV that the firework that malfunctioned is called “Whistle to Salute” and had 45 shots in it. The spokesperson said the firework blew itself apart in the middle of the firing, but why it happened is being investigated.
Video captured by crowd members shows fireworks ascending into the air while multiple others hit different points in the crowd. The fireworks exploded just after the line of F-35 jets from Utah’s Hill Air Force Base roared over the stadium. Scores of people were waving their arms and yelling for medical attention for those who were struck. The show was paused and then resumed at approximately 9 p.m.
Provo Fire and BYU’s emergency medical team responded to the injuries. The Provo City Fire Marshal, Lynn Schofield, told KSL TV that his department has gathered a witness list and is going to reach out to those people, but worries there are others unaccounted for since they left without medical assistance.
“There were a couple of people who went in their own vehicle, but only one was transported,” Schofield said.
The Provo Fire Department said it would comment once a thorough investigation is completed. It requested anyone with the video send it by email to firemarshal@provo.org.
More aircraft were about to fly over the performance when hundreds of people began yelling for attention to stop the show.
The festival paused before the Jonas Brothers were scheduled to go on stage, and the stands where fireworks hit were cleared. The show remained paused for over 20 minutes before resuming.
This is not the first time a firework misfire happened in Utah. In 2010, ten people were hurt in a fireworks show at Liberty Park. That incident included eight to 15 mortars shooting in different directions.
Contributing: Andrew Adams, Shelby Lofton, Brianna Chavez, Deanie Wimmer, Garna Mejia, and Shara Park, KSL TV