By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Several vehicles were damaged and a person was seriously injured in an amateur fireworks launching incident that occurred at the customer launch pad area at the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza on Thursday evening, July 4.
According to eye witnesses at the scene, a male customer drove his pickup truck out to the launch pad area. In the back of the truck were hundreds of fireworks that the customer had purchased at the Travel Plaza store.
In the process of launching the fireworks, something occurred that caused all of the fireworks to be ignited at once, witnesses said. This ignited a propane tank being stored in the back of the truck, which exploded. The vehicle itself also caught fire and was soon fully involved in flames.
The fire soon spread to other nearby vehicles. A second truck was soon involved in the fire. Two other cars were damaged by the blaze before it was brought under control.
The Moapa Paiute Tribe had contracted Guardian Elite firefighters for the event. Because of the large crowds of people and the volume of traffic in the area, it was reportedly difficult for the response vehicles to get to the scene of the fire. Guardian Elite were first on the scene, responding with a wildland fire brush truck vehicle.
In addition, Moapa Station #72 Chief Ron Leachman was in attendance at the event. He had come in his station’s squad vehicle in order to be on hand as backup fire protection, if needed.
All other Moapa Valley Fire District personnel and equipment were stationed at the Clark County Fairgrounds that night to act as fire protection during the community fireworks display there.
Leachman said that it took a few some time for him to navigate his large vehicle, through the crowded area, to the location of the fire. Once there, he assisted in extinguishing the vehicle fire.
“That first truck was completely destroyed,” Leachman said. “The second truck was only partially, we were able to get the fire out before it completely went up. The fire also started to melt the passenger side of a couple of nearby cars. But we were able to cool them down so they didn’t catch fire.”
Only one woman was reportedly injured in the incident. When the propane tank in the back of the truck exploded, it sent shrapnel in every direction. A piece of that shrapnel reportedly sliced the woman’s arm causing a serious injury. Emergency medical crews responded to attend to the woman and she was transported to Las Vegas for hospital care.
The owner of the first truck escaped without major injury.
In a separate incident occurring that night, a man was seriously injured when he was reportedly hit in the back of the head by a stray mortar shell accidentally launched from a fireworks launching tube that had accidentally been knocked over. The 85-year-old man; later identified by the Clark County Coroner’s office as Hector Rojas Moreno of Monclova, Mexico; was transported by ambulance to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead at 1:25 am on July 5, with cause of death being blunt force head trauma.
Moapa Valley Fire District Chief Steve Neel said that these incidents were a good examples of why members of the public should stick to ‘safe and sane’ legal fireworks for their July 4 celebrations.
“It has been emphasized by the County a lot over the last few years and they will keep emphasizing it,” Neel said. “Any time you fire a combustible into the air, you lose control of it. There is a lot of room for error there. Those kinds of fireworks are best left to the professionals who are licensed and trained to handle them. This sad incident is just another example of that.”
Moapa Paiute Tribal officials did not respond last week to requests for comment on the incident.
Other activities at the annual July 4th celebration went well. An estimated 25,000 people attended over the two nights of the festival. Performing for these crowds were several headliner bands including Blue Oyster Cult, Blood Sweat and Tears, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, Rhyolite Sound and more.
The official professional fireworks display that was showcased at the event went off without a hitch. According to those in attendance, it was spectacular!
