Maine man dies after trying to light firework on his head - Polidicks

Source: [url]http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/05/us-usa-fireworks-maine-idUSKCN0PF0TY20150705[/url] [quote] A Maine man died during a Fourth of July celebration on Saturday night when he tried to launch a firework from the top of his head and it exploded, killing him instantly, police said Sunday. Devon Staples, 22, of Calais, Maine, was drinking and celebrating the holiday in a friend's backyard when he placed the fireworks mortar tube on his head around 10 p.m., said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. [/quote] "To alcohol: the cause of - and solution to all of life's problems." -Homer Simpson

What were they using that would kill him instantly when it went off? Can you legally buy fireworks that powerful, even? [editline]5th July 2015[/editline] Like the only fireworks I've ever seen that you can buy are the relatively small ones that shoot out a bunch of sparks, nothing that ever outright explodes.

[QUOTE=Starlight 456;48128129]What were they using that would kill him instantly when it went off? Can you legally buy fireworks that powerful, even?[/QUOTE] He was holding a mortar tube on his head, so it was probably a bottle rocket. Rockets shoot stuff out the back of them when they go off. May have also been some kind of M80.

[QUOTE=Starlight 456;48128129]What were they using that would kill him instantly when it went off? Can you legally buy fireworks that powerful, even? [editline]5th July 2015[/editline] Like the only fireworks I've ever seen that you can buy are the relatively small ones that shoot out a bunch of sparks, nothing that ever outright explodes.[/QUOTE] I don't even think it has to be that powerful to kill you if you have it on top of your head. I mean just as a little comparison, a flashbang grenade is basically a firework and I read of a guy who had his hand blown off my one once.

I'm assuming he broke his spine with the blowback.

[QUOTE=Starlight 456;48128129]What were they using that would kill him instantly when it went off? Can you legally buy fireworks that powerful, even? [editline]5th July 2015[/editline] Like the only fireworks I've ever seen that you can buy are the relatively small ones that shoot out a bunch of sparks, nothing that ever outright explodes.[/QUOTE] locally they used to sell some pretty powerful fireworks, but it's been nearly four years since they banned the powerful stuff. Hasn't stopped the bootleg market trying to meet demand though. As for the firework, wouldnt be surprised if it was some sort of rocket/fancy effects deal

Any large force to the head can cause spelling of the bone of your skull, as in the inside of your skull will peel off and be launched into your brain, sending bone shrapnel throughout your head.

Mortar tubes are basically cannons that fire pretty heavy tennis ball sized fireworks, so it's possible that it had a hell of a kick that was a lot of stress on his neck.

[QUOTE=nox;48128172]Mortar tubes are basically cannons that fire pretty heavy tennis ball sized fireworks, so it's possible that it had a hell of a kick that was a lot of stress on his neck.[/QUOTE] I'm placing my bet on a completely blown off head and a closed casket funeral.

I was wondering what those sirens were for.

he set off a mortar on his head. i can't get the image of his head crushing under the backblast out of my head

my buddy tried to shoot a bottle rocket from his mouth last night. Fortunately at the time I was still sober enough to stop him

[QUOTE=butre;48128305]my buddy tried to shoot a bottle rocket from his mouth last night. Fortunately at the time I was still sober enough to stop him[/QUOTE] You are a good friend. You saved his life, or at the very least a hospital visit.

[QUOTE=Grimhound;48128312]You are a good friend. You saved his life, or at the very least a hospital visit.[/QUOTE] they were the cheap ones, hospital visit would be worst case scenario

Stupid as hell for playing with fireworks let alone a powerful one, but it's sad that he died.

he was probably killed by the recoil of the blast If it's a fireworks mortar designed to be shot on the ground, you can imagine the force it would take to launch a 3-4 pound projectile roughly 150-250 feet into the air. Either he was killed by the sheer concussive force of the tube driving right into his head, or his neck snapped when it tried to compensate for the recoil. Either way, shame but not unexpected for a 4th of July fatality.

sad, but also simply stupid. i just got done putting on a huge fireworks show in maine and even standing 25-50 feet away from the end of the dock that we light them off of, you can feel the blast as each one shoots up. obviously this dude was drunk, but it sucks that neither he nor anyone around him went "uh dude that's a huge fucking mortar don't put that on your head, take a firecracker or something stupid and tiny if you want to be an idiot"

it almost sounds like the shell exploded in the tube

When I was a kid, I stuck a bunch of bottle rockets into a wasp's nest. I lit them up. I never ran so fast in my life.

[QUOTE=butre;48128354]they were the cheap ones, hospital visit would be worst case scenario[/QUOTE] Teeth are expensive as fuck to fix though, you might have saved him a couple thousand dollars

For new years, my friend bought a mortar. A big fuckhuge one, and 2 smaller ones. A shell got stuck in the barrel somehow, and exploded. Shit was powerful enough to leave us all with ringing ears for a while. Thankfully no one got hurt, even with shit going everywhere. A couple years ago, my friends and i thought it would be a good idea to shoot each other with roman candles. We were completely sober. A couple shots after we started, i had a burned shirt and a permanently scarred armpit and underarm.

I ran through some sprakler shit but I could be black out drunk and still know that's a bad idea.

So he literally went out with a bang then.

[QUOTE=Tmaxx;48128654]For new years, my friend bought a mortar. A big fuckhuge one, and 2 smaller ones. A shell got stuck in the barrel somehow, and exploded. Shit was powerful enough to leave us all with ringing ears for a while. Thankfully no one got hurt, even with shit going everywhere. A couple years ago, my friends and i thought it would be a good idea to shoot each other with roman candles. We were completely sober. A couple shots after we started, i had a burned shirt and a permanently scarred armpit and underarm.[/QUOTE] Same thing happened to us once. Luckily it wasn't a huge mortar, so the worst thing that happened was a sulfur burn to the chrome bumper of a nearby truck. Illegal fireworks are fucking scary when things go wrong, honestly. Too many people take them lightly and don't understand that they're basically dealing with amateur explosives.

Sounds odd, since 1.4G rated mortars are 1.75" or below, i've had 2" and even bigger shells explode near me, and all that was damaged was my hearing. Granted, I didn't try shooting it off my head, but i've also seen people hold bigger mortars than that and other stupid shit. Must have been some bootleg or higher class than 1.4.

Reminds me of [video]https://youtu.be/PzV3WISReEU[/video]

[QUOTE=Starlight 456;48128129]What were they using that would kill him instantly when it went off? Can you legally buy fireworks that powerful, even? [editline]5th July 2015[/editline] Like the only fireworks I've ever seen that you can buy are the relatively small ones that shoot out a bunch of sparks, nothing that ever outright explodes.[/QUOTE] Depending on where you live, it's perfectly legal to buy the big ones-- the kind they use at the professional fireworks shows. You can buy pretty much anything here. My uncle lives in an upscale neighborhood, so I usually go over there on the Fourth. A lot of his friends from the area pool together and buy absurd amounts of huge fireworks and put on a show. Those things could easily kill a dude. [editline]5th July 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=aznz888;48128473]he was probably killed by the recoil of the blast If it's a fireworks mortar designed to be shot on the ground, you can imagine the force it would take to launch a 3-4 pound projectile roughly 150-250 feet into the air. Either he was killed by the sheer concussive force of the tube driving right into his head, or his neck snapped when it tried to compensate for the recoil. Either way, shame but not unexpected for a 4th of July fatality.[/QUOTE] The article says the mortar exploded, so it sounds like the firework never left the tube.

[QUOTE=0x0000000C;48128142]I'm assuming he broke his spine with the blowback.[/QUOTE] Not nearly that powerful

[QUOTE=sj72004;48129441]Not nearly that powerful[/QUOTE] His neck then? I think I worded that wrong.

[QUOTE=Tmaxx;48128654]For new years, my friend bought a mortar. A big fuckhuge one, and 2 smaller ones. A shell got stuck in the barrel somehow, and exploded. Shit was powerful enough to leave us all with ringing ears for a while. Thankfully no one got hurt, even with shit going everywhere. A couple years ago, my friends and i thought it would be a good idea to shoot each other with roman candles. We were completely sober. A couple shots after we started, i had a burned shirt and a permanently scarred armpit and underarm.[/QUOTE] my friends and i have a tradition of shooting eachother with roman candles every 4th, a tradition strictly practiced under complete sobriety