MONTGOMERY COUNTY – A freak accident caused quite a bit of excitement on South Loop 336 in Conroe Saturday night for people at Carl Barton, Jr. Park and some residents in surrounding areas.
Deputy Fire Marshal Michael Legoudes said DDT Fireworks (a pyrotechnics company from Pryor, Oklahoma) conducted a shooter certification course at the park on Saturday, ending with a “shootout” that coincided with a Texas Independence Day Festival.
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All was well until around 8 p.m., when 15 to 20 minutes into the display a mortar went up. Unfortunately, Legoudes said the mortar did not go very high, and worse yet, it came down onto a trailer full of fireworks.
The official fireworks display ended at that point, Legoudes said. Of course, that was when the bigger show began, as the trailer caught fire and mortars continued to explode for 30 to 45 minutes, as 911 operators took call after call reporting fires and explosions.
The Conroe Fire Department responded, but had to wait until it was safe to approach the fire to try and extinguish it. As of this writing it is undetermined just how far some of the fireworks reached. The Cut and Shoot Fire Department responded to a call at Jefferson Chemical and Hwy 105, which may or may not have been a result of the out of control fireworks.
There were no reported injuries.
Legoudes said one thing is certain – there will be a big mess to clean up.
