Organizers of this year’s Stadium of Fire said they’ve taken steps to make sure a fireworks fiasco doesn’t happen again.
More than two dozen people were hurt during last year’s show in Provo when fireworks malfunctioned and went into the Edwards Stadium crowd during a military flyover. A report later identified the problem with a 36S Howling Tails to Hammer firework, which contained rows of tubes.
After an explosion, the report found some of those tubes discharged improperly, sending projectiles toward the audience and the stage.
“That one particular firework will not be allowed in the stadium again,” said Jim Evans, executive director of America’s Freedom Festival at Provo, which puts on Stadium of Fire. “Any rocket self-propelled firework is not allowed in the stadium. We’ve got rid of those, and that right there will make it a lot safer.”
Evans also said a new vendor is involved this year that will produce both the fireworks and drone show on Friday night.
Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield told KSL-TV his team had been on site multiple times this week inspecting fireworks and equipment, and they’ll do the same thing the day of the show.
“Safety is obviously the No. 1 priority,” Schofield said. “We want people to come to Provo. We want them to have a great time. We want them to see a good show. We want them to go home healthy and otherwise unharmed.”
Schofield called last year’s incident that injured 26 people “unfortunate,” but he said organizers have learned from it.
“That was a device that, quite frankly, probably should have never been in the stadium, and it’s been in the stadium 20 years,” he said. “I would be a very poor fire marshal if we didn’t learn from what happened last year, so … we don’t allow anything that’s self-propelled inside the stadium anymore.”
Organizers said they’re expecting a sold-out crowd of nearly 50,000 people to attend Stadium of Fire on Friday, which is featuring the country band Rascal Flatts.