Local News

Maine man suspended from Mass. pyrotechnics after fireworks wash up on Martha’s Vineyard

“We’re extremely fortunate that no one was injured by the grave public safety hazard that unexploded shells posed on a public beach.”

More than two dozen unexploded fireworks shells washed up on Martha's Vineyard after the Fourth of July. Edgartown Fire Department/Facebook

By Abby Patkin

July 27, 2023

2 minutes to read

A Maine man who conducted a Fourth of July fireworks show on Martha’s Vineyard is barred from pyrotechnics work in Massachusetts for five years after unexploded shells washed up on Chappaquiddick Island the next day.

The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad collected 25 commercial-grade fireworks shells from a Chappaquiddick beach on July 5, officials previously said.

Anthony Marson waived his right to an administrative hearing and accepted a 10-year suspension of his fireworks certificate of competency, the license fireworks shooters need in order to work in Massachusetts, the state’s Department of Fire Services said in a press release Wednesday.

However, Marson — who works for Central Maine Pyrotechnics — will only serve half of that suspension, with the other five years held in abeyance as a probationary period, DFS said.

Previously:

Dozens of unexploded fireworks wash up on Martha’s Vineyard beach after July 4th show

Central Maine Pyrotechnics waived its right to a hearing and accepted a two-year suspension, also held in abeyance, according to the release.

DFS said it will reinstate the suspensions if Marson or Central Maine Pyrotechnics do not comply with the agreement, or if they violate Massachusetts law or the Comprehensive Fire Safety Code.

According to the news release, both Marson and Central Maine Pyrotechnics “acknowledged violations of the Massachusetts Fire Code in connection with the show and its aftermath, including the requirements for proper disposal of unfired shells and a search at first light the next morning for unexploded shells.”

DFS said the unexploded shells were highly explosive and had the potential to cause grave physical injury — or worse.

“Fireworks are inherently dangerous,” State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey said in a statement. “Communities trust professional fireworks vendors to handle these devices with the utmost caution and professionalism. We’re extremely fortunate that no one was injured by the grave public safety hazard that unexploded shells posed on a public beach.”

Leftover fireworks can have potentially devastating consequences: In 2012, workers mowing lawns in three Massachusetts communities ran over unexploded shells left behind after Fourth of July shows, causing them to detonate under the workers’ lawnmowers, The Boston Globe reported at the time. The company responsible in that case, Pyrotecnico, blamed defective product.

Then-State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said that the size of the commercial lawnmowers protected workers from the explosions.

Central Maine Pyrotechnics did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. However, owner Steven Marson told the Globe that his team met with fire safety officials to work out an agreement.

“It was unfortunate that it rained that day and caused the fireworks to not explode like they should, and a couple dozen of them wound up in the water,” he told the Globe. “It is what it is.”