20-02-2025
How did Provo's fireworks mishap injure 26 people?
The 2024 Freedom Festival's Stadium of Fire Independence Day celebration in Provo experience an unexpected commotion on July 4 at BYU's Edwards Stadium, when fireworks malfunctioned, injuring a reported 26 people, with four being directly hit by parts of the device.
On Wednesday, Provo Fire & Rescue released its completed report on the Stadium of Fire incident in a press conference at the Provo City Center. The city's fire marshal, Lynn Schofield, presented the report that ultimately concluded the incident 'occurred as a result of an uncontrolled deflagration of whistle composition in two successive tubes in a 36-shot kick,' he said.
This means that of the fireworks' 36 tubes — placed in 6x6 rows — connected by a string fuse, two of the tubes likely pulled apart, causing the device to disperse and launch explosives into the crowd.
The fireworks, a 36S Howling Tails to Hammer, is a whistling variety. These kinds of fireworks are named for the whistling sound they make when shooting into the air. They differ from other fireworks in that they use a unique pyrotechnic composition that burns in an oscillating pattern packed into tubes at high pressure.
Schofield emphasized that once the fireworks are ignited, there's nothing that can be done to stop them. 'There's no dead man switch,' he said. 'Once it's going, it continues to go unless that circuit either completes or is interrupted.'
In this case, chaos ensued after the fireworks circuit was completed. The incident was shared many times via social media.
The fireworks were located four rows down from the top of the south end zone set up in the bleachers.
At around 8:40 p.m., after the song 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and the F-35 flyover, Schofield said the fireworks malfunctioned and shot into the crowds. Injuries were sustained in three distinct ways:
Four people were directly struck by the device under power, he said. One woman was even directly hit on the head by the flying device. Until she saw the video of her being hit, Schofield said the woman thought a water bottle had struck her.
A number of people were injured by flying shrapnel from the objects propelling through the crowds.
Lastly, Schofield said the sound output level of people near the explosion caused hearing injuries. The fireworks produced a 'sound output level of 145 to 85 decibels, which is well above the acceptable range,' he said, 'But again, it's happening within a small area with people, which is not part of the design.'
Initial stories listed the number of victims at 18.
Following the incident, the report included a list of recommendations for the future, focusing on enhancing safety through stricter oversight and proactive risk mitigation. One recommendation was to require a detailed product list during the permitting process so authorities can verify product specifications and assess potential hazards.
Equally important is clearly labeling devices to warn users that they contain self-propelled rockets. Schofield said the firework in question did not have a label. He also cautioned that establishing an 800‐foot exclusion zone was a vital physical safety measure they learned from this incident. All of the victims, except for one, were more than 450 feet from the firework's point of discharge.
'We will do everything we can to make sure that these events are as safe as we possibly,' Schofield said, with Independence Day just over four months away. 'The very worst outcome of this investigation and this incident is to not change the way we do business to try and prevent this in the future. That's just that's not acceptable.'
He added that the 36S Howling Tails to Hammer is no longer available and that when it comes to whistler fireworks, specifically, 'You will never see a whistle inside of the stadium, as long as I'm the fire marshal,' Schofield said.
