The state Fire Marshal’s office says their initial report into the fireworks accident that injured 37 people in Charles City Friday night won’t be released for several days. An Iowa Department of Public Safety spokesperson says the fire marshal’s office had investigators in Charles City Sunday examining the accident scene.
An agent has been assigned to interview each of the 37 victims of what the department is calling an "accidental discharge." Further testing will also be conducted on some of the materials involved in the explosion.
Charles City Assistant Fire Chief Dave Boehmer says the investigation is centered on 13 launch racks that were set up. He says 12 were loaded and were the apparent source of the malfunction. The display was set off by J&M Displays Inc. of Yarmouth in southeast Iowa.
In a statement on Monday, the company says it’s working with all regulatory agencies and that its insurance company was on site the next day to assist in the investigation. Hospital officials says all of the people injured in the incident were released by Sunday afternoon. Most of the people suffered minor injuries.