Posted 19 August 2004 - 03:37 PM
This is the official report as posted on Passfire..
"Accident at PGI: 2004 Convention
From the Safety Director and Second Vice-President, Bill Bahr, With approval of the Board of Directors, Safety Co-Chairmen, and Past President:
By now many of you have learned of the unfortunate and tragic accident at the PGI convention. You may not, however, know the facts of the incident.
What follows is a brief description of the facts of the matter, the aftermath, and the reaction of the PGI.
This is
a factual and official report. Any and all other posts are merely unsubstantiated rumor. Please feel free to contact your Board should there be any remaining questions.
At approximately 3:45 PM, on Friday, August 13, 2004, an accident occurred at the convention site. Three persons were involved. Two were PGI members. One had fraudulently obtained PGI credentials by offering false information at registration.
These three individuals were mixing a flash composition, which ignited. It is estimated that they were mixing approximately ten pounds of a very sensitive type of flash powder. Two were critically injured and one was severely injured. As of August 15, 2004, all three are expected to survive and are talking and alert and conscious. Two remain hospitalized.
This accident is the direct result of gross, willful, and deliberate violations of PGI rules and policies.
Specifically, the violations were:
1) Mixing of flash powder is expressly forbidden.
2) No activity is permitted at a range that is not open
for use and supervised by the safety team.
3) The person who obtained PGI membership credentials
fraudulently committed criminal trespass.
As safety director, I am very proud of having kept all
of our members safe for many, many years. We have
NEVER had
an accident involving fireworks related injuries at a PGI convention in 35 years until this year. So far as the Board and all the signators of this open letter are concerned, the PGI STILL has a perfect safety record. I find it utterly impossible to provide a complete defense against acts committed by those who would trespass onto our site and then violate two of our most stringently enforced safety rules.
What are the repercussions for the PGI? Here is our current status:
1) Bill Bahr, John Steinberg, Tom Handel, and Michael Swisher
have met with the ATFE, North Dakota State, and local Cass
County b**b squad authorities. There were NO violations
by the PGI. Our federal license and local law enforcement
record is considered by all to remain unblemished and
intact. This is THE official response and conclusion to
this matter.
2) John Steinberg has met with our insurers: our London
underwriter, our London broker, and our insurance agents.
The PGI has offered, if it would be helpful, to underwrite
any costs in resolving this matter. There are, at present,
no claims pending against the PGI and there may well not be.
Should any claims be filed, the PGI expects to be completely
exonerated, though there may be costs incidental to
conducting a civil defense. Our insurance will be renewed
for 2005 and is not in jeopardy.
3) Our North Dakota hosts and our Iowa hosts are completely
satisfied with our conduct and our administration of our
convention. The Iowa 2005 convention will be conducted
exactly as planned, without any changes or interruptions.
Planning for this event is underway even as you read this.
In summary, the PGI did NOTHING wrong. The PGI will suffer NO adverse consequences. The three individuals who so terribly abused our hospitality and so grievously betrayed our trust have been punished by their injuries to a far greater degree than any of us would ever wish upon anyone.
For 2005, increased safety supervision of firing sites including documentation of activities and patrols by safety team members will be instituted. We intend to secure our site so that no such activity can ever occur again.
You, our law abiding and rule following members are entitled to enjoy a safe and rewarding convention. You shall.
Those who
disobey our rules and place themselves and others in harm's way will be dealt with immediately and severely. This can NEVER happen again. It is up to all of you to work with us to help maintain our overall track record of safety. There have STILL been no fireworks accident-related injuries involving the PGI members who have enjoyed our permitted and supervised activities, conducted our displays and demos, attended our seminars, and enjoyed our hospitality. Under my active direction and under Ron Nojunas' safety chairmanship, this unblemished record of safe operation WILL continue.
Our attorneys and our insurers have reviewed the above text.
This response constitutes the official response
of: the
Safety Director, Bill Bahr; our Board of Directors:
Camille Coman,
Tom Handel, Bill Bahr, Mike Swisher, and Frank Kuberry; our past president and regulatory liaison officer, John Steinberg; and our Safety Chairman, Ron Nojunas."
Very fortunate is all I can say.. this could very easily have been a case of "It only takes one person to spoil things for everyone else". It also goes to show that rules and safety procedures are there for a reason, no matter how trivial they may appear at the time.
Be sensible, keep it safe !
Mark
KF Pyro Crew
BPA L1 & L2
