Big Bay Boom incident

The Big Bay Boom incident occurred on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, when 7,000 fireworks, intended for a 17-minute display, discharged prematurely and simultaneously from four barges and a pier. The entire cache exploded in less than a minute.
The event was the Big Bay Boom, an annual Independence Day fireworks display in San Diego, California. The event has been put on since 2001 and is claimed to be one of the largest fireworks displays in the United States; half a million people had congregated on the shores of San Diego Bay to watch the show. There were no injuries; workers on the barges took refuge in metal shelters designed for their protection.
The nation's fireworks industry is watching to see what the fallout will be from the accident. Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, said she has been in the business more than two decades and has never seen a full-scale breakdown like this before.

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