Tragedy on Ocracoke, N.C., opens door to change

By Saturday evening, much of our region - and the nation - had learned of the horrific explosion on Ocracoke Island earlier in the day. It was a sorrowful reminder of the behind-the-scenes risks taken by the people who put on fireworks for appreciative crowds on the Fourth of July and other occasions through the year.

The blast, aboard a truck loaded with fireworks, claimed the lives of four people working as temporary contractors for Melrose South Pyrotechnics, a South Carolina company. Lisa Simmons, Mark Hill, Terry Holland and Charles Kirkland Jr. all attended the same church in Goldsboro, N.C. A fifth crew member, Martez Holland, was severely burned.

The explosion, as the group was unloading the fireworks around 9 a.m., has been ruled an accident by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, but no cause has been cited. The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating; a report isn't expected for several months.

Wayne Goodwin, the state's insurance commissioner and fire marshal, has already called for North Carolina legislators to look at requiring certification of fireworks crew members to ensure they've been adequately trained.

It's too early to say what role - if any - training or variances from safety protocols played in Saturday's explosion.

But it is appropriate for officials in North Carolina, Virginia and other states to re-examine the permitting process for public fireworks displays and determine whether additional requirements are necessary.

The fireworks industry also needs to reassess its own standards. The majority of displays occur on one night a year, which means that companies rely on temporary contractors. Are all of them sufficiently trained and supervised?

Accidental explosions are relatively rare, especially given the number of celebrations staged in communities around the nation on the Fourth of July, New Year's Eve and other occasions.

But something clearly went terribly wrong Saturday morning on Ocracoke. Authorities have an obligation to the victims and their loved ones to take every reasonable step to reduce the likelihood of a similar tragedy before more lives are lost.