Georgia man killed in Fireworks accident

[deepdixie1979]

Fireworks were recently legalized here in the Peach State, and now this. Stupidity+Alcohol+Fireworks don't mix. It appears that the fellow placed a mortar shell in a tube upside down and then ignited it and held it over his head. :mad:

http://www.walb.com/story/30867574/fatal-fireworks-accident-claims-coffee-co-mans-life

[deepdixie1979]

https://m.facebook.com/CoffeeCountyScanner/photos/a.225378567597984.56622.215963021872872/709058849229951/?type=3&p=130

[Shooter]

That is so tragic. Does no one have common sense?

[fatcat]

I don't mean to be insensitive or cruel, but it is like the comedian says, "you can't fix stupid". What a shame that people just don't follow the directions when using a product that can potentially harm/kill you

[jknepp1954]

evidentally he didn't hear about the other 2 this past yr that killed themselves this way!
BUT DRUNK is just asking for trouble!!!

[Justintime]

I still think this type of incident happens by placing the shell in correctly. Newtons third law of physics "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" when on the ground the base is reinforced by the ground but if you are holding it above your head there is nothing that will prevent the bottom of the mortar tube from blowing out. Some one needs to test this theory by placing mortar tube on 2 cinder blocks space apart enough to just support the edges of the base. just the downward force from the lift charge would certainly drive the base into your skull if base did not fail

[displayfireworks1]

It is unfortunate that we have seen this type of accident occur more than once.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO1TSz-_DMs
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https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IqVoYBOqjhU/hqdefault.jpg

[Tropmoore75]

Why isn't "TOP" good enough? These things are mass produced, they don't need to be fused any differently, I believe only a few people actually look at this canister and think rocket and the way it fires. It stupidity and nothing else, failure to read instructions and the good old Darwinism comes into play. lets not expose this any more than it needs to be. Lobby to have laws in place to inform the hobbiest and educate them. Make em take an online course that certifies them. Its just an extra step in the right direction. Make the consumer take a 5 min course when they enter the store. Phantom has an education center, maybe make this the norm. It will make the true masses of idiots educated and we will find out how well education works. Everybody that's against Pyro need some touchy feely shit to make them happy. Give them some touchy feely and leave us the hell alone

[matandch]

Courses and tests aren't necessary. Read and follow the directions. It's not rocket science.

[Shooter]

Wondering out loud! Could some of these reloadables be mis-marked for "TOP" on the wrong end? Even if that was the case, it doesn't replace common sense in knowing that you don't pick up the tube and place it over your head. Tim's idea about the consumer getting educated at the retailer is a good starting point. Can't purchase this product until you watch a demonstration on how to shoot this item.

[Vulpes]

It does seem a bit silly that one could manage to actually push a cannister shell down a mortar, especially as Dave showed in one of his videos, if I recall right, the fuse and everything even got ruined by forcefully stuffing it down the wrong way. How people manage to do that and still fire them, I will never know - but I guess the old saying of "When there is a will, there is a way" applies, unfortunately. Likewise I also find it a bit surprising that a 1.4G product, at least a shell, could be lethal in this manner. I have had a lot of ground detonations of both rockets and shells of much higher caliber than 1.75" and came out of it just fine. Is it confirmed to be a genuine consumer firework, and not some bootleg stuff coming in from Mexico or such? From what I can gather about consumer mortars, they are built fairly heavy duty - so the events posted in the news article seem a bit strange.

As for the legality of reloadable mortars in Europe - they are allowed in certain countries, Poland being one. Although they do not come in the cannister shape, rather having a "light bulb" appearance.

[fatcat]

I just measured a cannister shell. It is approximately 4 inches long. That means if I put it in the tube the wrong way I have effectively reduced my available fuse length by 4 inches. That should be the first clue that something is not correct when you have to start fishing in the mortar tube to find the fuse. I still go back to the fact that when you mix variable amounts of alcohol with stupidity you are going to get tragic results and consequently tragic headlines. Of course the typical bureaucratic solution will be to ban all reloadables. ( That's my rant for the day.)

[deepdixie1979]

The police report says that the young man had a laceration on his neck, which probably resulted in a severed artery and a death by loss of blood. Unfortunately, the young man probably realized what had happened and knew that he was gravely injured. In my estimation it sounds like a Fiberglass mortar tube may have been involved, considering the way they are easily destroyed and send shrapnel flying everywhere when a shell is placed in a tube upside down.

[displayfireworks1]

There are many examples of how this occurs. Here is one where like I said two errors usually occur.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plg-ld1Lmbc
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Some people try to throw them.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ox_BAxzdk
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I think some of your guys with the opposing view may like this commentary. I post it for entertianment value.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ehdIqxkcZE

[Niceshellsdude]

Oh man! This guys could be Mark Maddens son. Looks and sounds just like him. Look him up on youtube if you don't know who he is.

[displayfireworks1]

Here comes some more upside downs for New Years.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5w3p18gF-A

[cracker]

I'm gonna jump in here. One night while sitting around, I hear a somewhat nearby thoomp...POW. I knew it was a mortar. Thought nothing more of it. I find out a week later, my neighbor said he got drunk and shot an excel while holding it over his head and was laughing about it. I thought "How stupid is this guy?!?!". Well my face must have shown what I was thinking; he started going on the defensive but I didn't want to hear it. I gotta wonder, what is so damn appealing about shooting a dang mortar from your head?!

[chriskrc]

Okay fireworks can malfunction but anyone who decides to get drunk and then shoot fireworks is asking for trouble. Well as we know people like to blame fireworks but we all know it's his own fault.

[Niceshellsdude]

For reasons of comparison, I wonder how many artillery shell kits were sold last year versus how many people were injured by them? Would be interesting to see if there are any official "numbers" from the CPSC.

[Bazerk]

At the end of the day, you cant fix stupid. I dont think this was an accident more so than someone trying to be funny or stunting. Ive personally shot thousands of mortars off without ever putting one in upside down and never took a class or read a shred of instructions. My wife can do this without any issues and she never messes with fireworks. I would be willing to bet, and I will video and post this, that my soon to be 3 year old son would figure out how this goes without me telling him anything other than that this needs to go in there and let him do the rest (obviously not lighting anything). It shouldnt cost the manufacturer, wholesalers or retailers any additional money to compensate for stupidity, period. deepdixie1979, I dont think it was a fiberglass tube as they dont create shrapnel, they shred which is what makes them good for shooting these shells. If there was shrapnel than I am betting it was a PVC tube which does shatter like glass. Cardboard, fiberglass and HDPE are what people need to be using.

[matandch]

At the end of the day, you cant fix stupid. I dont think this was an accident more so than someone trying to be funny or stunting. Ive personally shot thousands of mortars off without ever putting one in upside down and never took a class or read a shred of instructions. My wife can do this without any issues and she never messes with fireworks. I would be willing to bet, and I will video and post this, that my soon to be 3 year old son would figure out how this goes without me telling him anything other than that this needs to go in there and let him do the rest (obviously not lighting anything). It shouldnt cost the manufacturer, wholesalers or retailers any additional money to compensate for stupidity, period. deepdixie1979, I dont think it was a fiberglass tube as they dont create shrapnel, they shred which is what makes them good for shooting these shells. If there was shrapnel than I am betting it was a PVC tube which does shatter like glass. Cardboard, fiberglass and HDPE are what people need to be using.

All good points.

Bottom line: "Use only as directed."

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Courses and tests aren't necessary. Read and follow the directions. It's not rocket science.

Exactly. People who are predisposed to get hammered and use the top of their head to launch mortars, are probably not going to be the people who take safety courses or seek fireworks certifications. Sometimes you just have to let Darwinism work it's magic. Or as George Carlin once said, "passive eugenics."

[Rick_In_Tampa]

For reasons of comparison, I wonder how many artillery shell kits were sold last year versus how many people were injured by them? Would be interesting to see if there are any official "numbers" from the CPSC.

It would be interesting, but unfortunately, facts don't matter to some folks. It's just like guns. If you're anti-gun, it doesn't matter that more people die from the misuse of prescription drugs and car accidents each year, they still want to ban guns. The same would be true of fireworks.