Man Shoots Firework From Top of His Head, Dies

rockin'robin

rockin'robin

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CALAIS, Maine — A young man who was drinking and celebrating the Fourth of July tried to launch a firework off the top of his head, fatally injuring himself, authorities said Sunday.

Devon Staples and his friends had been drinking and setting off fireworks Saturday night in the backyard of a friend's home in the small eastern Maine city of Calais, said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. Staples, 22, of Calais, placed a fireworks mortar tube on his head and set it off, he said.

The firework exploded, killing Staples instantly, McCausland said.

His death is the first fireworks fatality in Maine since the state legalized fireworks on Jan. 1, 2012, authorities said.

Calais is on the Canadian border near New Brunswick.

State fire marshals were also investigating several other Fourth of July fireworks accidents involving injuries in Friendship, Jefferson, Lebanon and Woodstock. They said most of the accidents involved burns and eye injuries. McCausland said further details were expected to be released later Sunday.

In 2011, lawmakers voted to repeal a 1949 law banning fireworks, reasoning that the industry would create jobs and generate additional revenue.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-shoots-firework-top-his-head-dies-n386956?cid=sm_fb
 
rockin'robin said:
CALAIS, Maine — A young man who was drinking and celebrating the Fourth of July tried to launch a firework off the top of his head, fatally injuring himself, authorities said Sunday.

Devon Staples and his friends had been drinking and setting off fireworks Saturday night in the backyard of a friend's home in the small eastern Maine city of Calais, said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. Staples, 22, of Calais, placed a fireworks mortar tube on his head and set it off, he said.

The firework exploded, killing Staples instantly, McCausland said.

His death is the first fireworks fatality in Maine since the state legalized fireworks on Jan. 1, 2012, authorities said.

Calais is on the Canadian border near New Brunswick.

State fire marshals were also investigating several other Fourth of July fireworks accidents involving injuries in Friendship, Jefferson, Lebanon and Woodstock. They said most of the accidents involved burns and eye injuries. McCausland said further details were expected to be released later Sunday.

In 2011, lawmakers voted to repeal a 1949 law banning fireworks, reasoning that the industry would create jobs and generate additional revenue.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-shoots-firework-top-his-head-dies-n386956?cid=sm_fb
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OMG, I heard only that a man was killed in a fireworks accident on the news this morning, we had no other details. What a horrible stupid accident!!

So sorry for that guy's family.
 
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Horrible and totally idiotic.

Fireworks and alcohol don't mix.
 
Darwinism at it's best. Mix alcohol and fireworks and the outcome won't be good!
 
Waste of life,stupidity caused family great sorrow
 
When I was a kid, I took a roman candle, shook it REAL GOOD, and set it off in my hand. It exploded, firing through both ends. Fortunately, I held it straight ahead, off to the side. Talk about pain of fire in my hand! I ran all over the 5 acres and was finally caught and brought into the house to drop my hand in the sink to cool it down and take some of the pain away. I was "chained" to cold water/ice for much of the night.
 
If he had no.chilldren, he will be a runner up and a candidate for the darwin awards...stupidy and death iisnt enough..you need to.be stupid,you need to sie,and yiu need to have had no off spring thus removing yourself from the gene pool to qualify...
The abovs stated...im sure he has has kived ones mourning him,
Harsh...fate...
 
deafdrummer said:
When I was a kid, I took a roman candle, shook it REAL GOOD, and set it off in my hand. It exploded, firing through both ends. Fortunately, I held it straight ahead, off to the side. Talk about pain of fire in my hand! I ran all over the 5 acres and was finally caught and brought into the house to drop my hand in the sink to cool it down and take some of the pain away. I was "chained" to cold water/ice for much of the night.
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That was not smart, was it? Did you learn something from that experience? :hmm:
 
I just saw on the news a young boy lost his hand shooting a firework he was 9 yo. :(
 
Shooting fireworks from the top of his head? Tragic but can't fix stupid. :(
 
Growing up, you'd never know how many times I heard "it ain't gonna hurt him!" LOL
 
I'd be happy if they banned fireworks completely. It frightens animals and most people are idiots that don't know how to light them safely. I was wondering yesterday if the idiots across the pond where going to set something on fire. Most people don't care who they hit.
 
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQU4mjE2pQA[/ame]
 
Lau2046 said:
I'd be happy if they banned fireworks completely. It frightens animals and most people are idiots that don't know how to light them safely. I was wondering yesterday if the idiots across the pond where going to set something on fire. Most people don't care who they hit.
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I was thinking that when some people had fireworks going off so close to houses last night. A house did get on fire in some city . I don't think people are too smart if they're shooting fireworks in their back yard.
 
Mom Demands ‘Tougher Fireworks Laws’ After Son Lights Them Off Head and Dies

Her son was killed on the Fourth of July after he tried to launch firework from the top of his head. But some are saying it’s not his fault, “lax fireworks laws” are to blame.

Now, a Maine mother is calling for stricter laws on how people buy fireworks, and who can have access them.

Police say that on the 4th of July, Devon Staples, 22, was drinking with friends in the town of Calais when the accident happened with a mortar tube. In the wake of her son’s death, Kathleen Staples wants to see lawmakers consider requiring safety training courses before letting someone use fireworks. “At least it’d be a little bit more than, ‘Here you go,'” she told The Associated Press. “That’s an explosive. They didn’t just hand me a license and put me in the car.”

Staples said she thinks her son might have thought the explosive was a “dud” that wouldn’t hurt him, but State Fire Marshal Joe Thomas said that since the mortar had already been used once before, he “can’t imagine someone would anticipate that it was a dud.” This was the first fireworks-related death to occur in Maine since they were legalized in 2012, and Rep. Michel Lajoie (D) said he is considering introducing a measure next year to repeal the law. Lajoie, a retired fire chief, said he can already hear the arguments from people opposing a ban. “They’re going to say, ‘Well, you can’t regulate stupidity’…and it’s true, you can’t,” he told AP. “But the fact of the matter is you have to try something. I’m not giving up.”
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http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/...ireworks-laws-after-son-lights-them-off-head/
 
deafdrummer said:
When I was a kid, I took a roman candle, shook it REAL GOOD, and set it off in my hand. It exploded, firing through both ends. Fortunately, I held it straight ahead, off to the side. Talk about pain of fire in my hand! I ran all over the 5 acres and was finally caught and brought into the house to drop my hand in the sink to cool it down and take some of the pain away. I was "chained" to cold water/ice for much of the night.
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my friend x husband did same thing same type firework and blew his arm off
 
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