There will be changes to this year's annual 4th of July fireworks display in Portland. The fireworks will be shot off from land instead of a barge like the one that was used last year. During that display, a worker was badly injured.
An investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office and the U.S. Coast Guard found that the weather was a contributing factor in the accident that left one of the pyrotechnicians severely injured.
The display was delayed a day due to weather and the Fire Marshal's investigation found that moisture and water from the night before, got into the tubes used to fire off the fireworks on July 5. The moisture caused an eight inch shell to explode prematurely.
The injured worker from Atlas Pyrotechnics suffered a serious shoulder injury and a collapsed lung. Atlas says it was a good thing the worker was wearing a life-preserver, because it helped soften the blow.
The city says the barge was donated, and the coast guard says it issued a permit, but found the barge was not inspected.
However, because the barge didn't carry any hazardous materials, it wasn't required to be inspected.
"The Coast Guard did investigate this because the nature of the injury and the fact that there was an injury on board, a barge that was otherwise in commercial service. So, that's one of the trigger points that the Coast Guard does step in and will do an administrative investigation, and we do many of these annually," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Nick Barrow.
The Coast Guard says either way, a 350-yard safety radius is required to prevent spectator injuries.
If you're thinking of having your own fireworks, click here to make sure they're not banned in your town.