KINGSTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Following an explosion that seriously injured a resident in Kingston over the weekend, the State Fire Marshal’s office and local officials are reminding the public that when it comes to fireworks, leave the pyrotechnics to the professionals.
The reminder was circulated Monday afternoon while officials provided an update on the explosion that left a man with severe injuries on Sunday.
According to a news release from the State Fire Marshal’s office, the man injured was expected to survive after he was flown to a hospital in Boston being found by firefighters and police.
Authorities say first responders found the adult male suffering severe injuries to his hands, abdomen, and face after they were called to the area of 8 Nobadeer Cir. around 1 p.m.
Fire investigators and officials with the Massachusetts State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office were later called in, as well as hazmat technicians and other personnel.
Officials went on to find and remove what the Fire Marshal’s Office called “two destructive devices,” as well as “components that could be used to create additional devices.”
“While the preliminary investigation suggests the injured man intended to use the devices as fireworks, the items and substances involved were extremely dangerous – and illegal,” the news release stated.
“In the past 10 years, fireworks have caused nearly 1,000 significant fires and explosions in Massachusetts, along with dozens of injuries and about $2.5 million in damage,” said Kingston Fire Chief Mark Douglass. “Please, for your own safety and the safety of your family, friends, and neighbors, leave fireworks to the professionals.”
According to the State Fire Marshal’s office, nearly 3,000 packages of “aerial shells, cakes, fountains, bottle rockets, large rockets, Roman candles, sparklers, and other dangerous, illegal devices worth upward of $46,000” were taken off the streets last year alone.
Officials also stated that the investigation into Sunday’s explosion was ongoing.
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