mikeee Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Several days ago Brad Vanzago an Omaha resident was making fireworks in his house and had a terrible accident.The explosion caused the loss of (1) hand, (1) eye, several fingers and toes, burns on 1/2 of his body.Hard to say if the young man will survive these injuires.The house is a total loss, many legal problems to follow.This will cause another witch hunt in the Pyro Industry.Everyone out there be safe when mixing and making Pyrotechnics.Consider how much chemical is sitting in front of you, when you are making black, flash or whistle. Everyone Be Safe!!! Mikeee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJV Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Several days ago Brad Vanzago an Omaha resident was making fireworks in his house and had a terrible accident.The explosion caused the loss of (1) hand, (1) eye, several fingers and toes, burns on 1/2 of his body.Hard to say if the young man will survive these injuires.The house is a total loss, many legal problems to follow.This will cause another witch hunt in the Pyro Industry.Everyone out there be safe when mixing and making Pyrotechnics.Consider how much chemical is sitting in front of you, when you are making black, flash or whistle. Everyone Be Safe!!! Mikeee Read about it here: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120309/NEWS01/703099893Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkInLight Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Sad story. Worse still to have fireworks manufacture associated with someone who was "convicted in 2004 of possession of ephedrine with intent to make methamphetamine and two other drug felonies, according to court records". Anyway, it's another lesson for the rest of us. Don't work with more comp in the room than is absolutely needed for the task at hand, and put your finished product in a magazine. Don't keep a bin full of shells next to the same table you work on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrokid Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'm sorry to hear of this. It's a good thing no one else was hurt though. And then there's this gem: One of the main components of fireworks is flash powder, which can be set off simply by static, said Trista Frederick, a Kansas City, Mo., spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Sad VERY sad. Given the mans history. I hate to say this but today a lot of meth freaks make small amounts of the product with a 2 liter shake & bake plastic soda bottle method.Which if done wrong, can have rather explosive results. Who is to say, what set off any pyro components. Given the fire damage extent, the fire marshals determination could well be very wrong. Edited March 9, 2012 by oldguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I hear ya! You missed the next line."One of the main components of fireworks is flash powder, which can be set off simply by static, said Trista Frederick, a Kansas City, Mo., spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ATF website says homemade explosive devices can ignite due to heat, friction, being jarred or dropped." Who was it that was saying how smart and up on pyro info the BATFE Agents were? Who was it that said they are really there for our good and not to try and make the hobby go away? How then do you see this and still think this is true? They are right there, whipping folks up on just what a travesty pyrotechnical hobbies are and how dangerous they are and making it clear that only dummies want to make stuff like this... Yeah, I get all of that from these statements and the rest of the crap she was selling in the article. I duuno about you but the main component in my fireworks is BLACK POWDER, not flash. In fact I make and use so little flash it would be safe to say I could do without the stuff. Not out of fear of working with it, just because I am not a big boom sort of person. I do hope the guy comes out of this OK but I also wish he hadn't gotten involved with it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkInLight Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 The ATF's quote is accurate. Flash powder is "One of the main components of fireworks", and it can be "set off simply by static". You ask builders at a club shoot about their shells and at least 75% use a flash booster, not to mention all the salutes ringing through the night place flash firmly as "One of the main components of fireworks". As for the quote that says "homemade explosive devices can ignite due to heat, friction, being jarred or dropped", that is also accurate, and according to the article was pulled from the ATF website, not brought up by the agent. It is from a section speaking about "homemade explosive devices", not fireworks specifically. I would certainly say that is accurate given that a vast percentage of illegal homemade explosive devices use organic peroxides or permanganate flash. That section of text may or may not apply to this situation, but if not that was the newspaper that took it out of context, not the ATF. I don't think the ATF is the best thing in the world, but I'll save my complaints for legitimate fouls on their part. This isn't one of them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 The fact that he lost body parts more or less confirms there was flash powder involved. Nothing else we commonly make is powerful enough to blow a hand off. The burns were probably caused by slower compositions. The injuries were rather strange - eye, hand, both feet and a broken leg. Perhaps he dropped flash on the ground and was stooping over it sweeping it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 meth manufacturing aslo has similar results given the nature of lithium / water reaction and the presense of another accelerant. it would be hard to presume the cause from the article. he is known to make "fireworks" and meth, a witness saw fireworks going off during the fire. make your own judgement. from personal experience fire cause is tricky, especially when you are sifting through destroyed evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potassiumchlorate Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Poor guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 His facebook page linked Rolling Thunder/American Pyro Supply and ScienceForYou.netas his Pyro chem sources.I am sure both of these companies will be dealing with a lot of B.S. with the Feds.Won't be long before they run one of these companies out of business.Anyone on the mailing lists will most likely be put on a watch list.Papers Please.... Mikeee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 it is already too late for RT / APS, and it wasnt because of this guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrKrash Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Sadly, Brad Vanzago passed away at Creighton Medical Center early Monday morning, from his injuries. Prayers go out to him and his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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