Fireworks accident expert weighs in on massive fire at Yolo County facility
MAKES SENSE AS WE APPROACH THE 4TH OF JULY, WE WANT TO BRING IN AN EXPERT ON ALL OF THIS. RICHARD MEYER IS A FIRE AND EXPLOSION INVESTIGATOR AND A MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST. SO FIRST OF ALL, MR. MEYER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FOR JOINING US AND FOR YOUR TIME RIGHT NOW. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY AS YOU’RE WATCHING ALL OF THIS UNFOLD? GOOD EVENING. FIRST, I’M REALLY HOPING THAT NO ONE WAS INJURED IN ALL OF THIS. BUT BEYOND THAT, WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR IS TO SEE HOW THE FIREWORKS WERE STORED IN THIS FACILITY. AT THIS POINT, I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE THE ACTUAL INCIDENT OR THE COMPANY INVOLVED, AND MY MY UNDERSTANDING AT THIS POINT IS THAT THEY ARE A COMPANY THAT PUTS ON FIREWORKS DISPLAYS, THAT BEING SAID, THEY ARE PROBABLY IMPORTING THE MAJORITY OF THEIR PRODUCT FROM FROM CHINA, WHICH WAS WHERE THE MAJORITY OF FIREWORKS ARE MADE. PROBABLY STORING IT IN SHIPPING CONTAINERS. OR STORING IT IN BUNKERS. TYPICALLY IT’S BEEN STORED IN SHIPPING CONTAINERS. SO AND THAT BEING SAID, THERE ARE PROTOCOLS FOR, YOU KNOW, HOW FAR APART THESE CONTAINERS SHOULD BE LIMITED. THE THE ANY IGNITION SOURCES THAT COULD BE NEAR THESE CONTAINERS THAT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT LIKE THAT. AND THEN HAVING ADEQUATE FIRE PROTECTION IN THE AREA AND FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT. SO THAT WILL BE ALL THE THINGS I’D BE LOOKING AT. WHAT WHAT A SAFE WAY BE TO STORE THESE FIREWORKS. WELL, THE SAFEST WAY TO BE WOULD BE TO STORE THEM IN THE SMALLEST QUANTITIES YOU CAN, AS FAR AWAY FROM EACH OTHER AS YOU CAN. NOW, THAT’S NOT NOT THE ALWAYS THE MOST PRACTICAL. YOU KNOW, BUT YOUR TYPICAL COMPANY WILL HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF REAL ESTATE ON WHICH TO SPREAD OUT THEIR PRODUCT. BUT THAT BEING SAID, YOU CAN. LET’S JUST SAY YOU’RE STORING THESE IN SHIPPING CONTAINERS, WHICH THEY ARRIVE. IF YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF ACRES, WHICH I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU, YOU KNOW, THE MORE SPACE IS BETTER THAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, EARTHWORMS PILED UP BETWEEN THE CONTAINERS. SO IF IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ONE, HOPEFULLY YOU CAN CONTAIN IT TO THAT PARTICULAR AREA AND IT DOESN’T SPREAD TO OTHERS, YOU KNOW, AND THIS WOULD BE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE YOU KNOW, I’M AN OLD ARMY GUY AND THIS WOULD BE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID IN THE MILITARY FOR FOR AMMUNITION STORAGE IN THE FIELD WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WOULD TAKE A BULLDOZER AND WE’D PUSH UP EARTH WALLS AND THEN STORE OUR MUNITIONS IN BETWEEN. SO IF THE EXPLOSIONS, IF SOMETHING EXPLODED, BASICALLY TH
A fire at a fireworks facility in Yolo County sparked a number of massive explosions on Tuesday evening. KCRA 3 spoke with Richard Meier, a fireworks accident expert, to get his perspective on the fire. Meier shared what he would be considering while investigating a similar incident. “There are protocols for how far apart these containers should be, limiting any ignition sources that could be near these containers that could cause an accident like that, and then having adequate fire protection in the area and firefighting equipment,” he said. “That would be all the things I would be looking at.”Meier said the safest way to store fireworks would be to spread them out as far as possible, which can be difficult in a confined area. “If something happens to one , hopefully you can contain it to that particular area,” Meier said. The fire is still burning as of 8 p.m. Tuesday. It’s unclear what sparked the blaze or if anyone was injured.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
YOLO COUNTY, Calif. —A fire at a fireworks facility in Yolo County sparked a number of massive explosions on Tuesday evening.
KCRA 3 spoke with Richard Meier, a fireworks accident expert, to get his perspective on the fire.
Meier shared what he would be considering while investigating a similar incident.
“There are protocols for how far apart these containers should be, limiting any ignition sources that could be near these containers that could cause an accident like that, and then having adequate fire protection in the area and firefighting equipment,” he said. “That would be all the things I would be looking at.”
Meier said the safest way to store fireworks would be to spread them out as far as possible, which can be difficult in a confined area.
“If something happens to one [storage container], hopefully you can contain it to that particular area,” Meier said.
The fire is still burning as of 8 p.m. Tuesday. It’s unclear what sparked the blaze or if anyone was injured.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
