LA GRANGE, N.C. — One person was killed and three firefighters were injured Friday when a brush fire caused fireworks on a North Carolina farm to explode, authorities said.
According to Lenoir County Emergency Services Director Murry Stroud, fields were being burned off at a hay farm in La Grange when the blaze got out of control at about 3:15 p.m. EDT and reached the container holding the fireworks, WITN-TV reported.
Firefighters were dispatched to the farm as flames approached a nearby building, WSOC-TV reported. The blaze ignited the fireworks, according to the television station.
According to Stroud, the owner of the property, Randy Herring, died in the explosion, WTVD reported.
Three firefighters were transported to taken to a Greenville hospital for treatment, WITN reported. One patient was flown by helicopter and the other two were transported by an ambulance, according to the television station.
Officials have identified the victim who died in the Lenoir County fireworks explosion Friday afternoon.https://t.co/zIT2uA3w7h
— WITN Headlines (@WITN) June 11, 2022
Two of the firefighters have been released and the third was taken to the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill for further treatment, WTVD reported.
According to Lenoir County Emergency Services, the site had a permit and was licensed to have fireworks, WITN reported. The site was also inspected, according to the television station.
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