Deadly Hawaii fireworks blast was ‘worst call’ of official’s career
The first ambulance arrived minutes after midnight Wednesday in a packed Honolulu neighborhood that had been celebrating the new year. The unit rapidly called for reinforcements, an official said, after it saw the scene: dozens of people severely injured by an explosion of illegal fireworks outside a home.
Two women were pronounced dead on-site in the Salt Lake neighborhood, and a third woman died at a hospital, Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu’s Emergency Services Department, told the Washington Post on Thursday, describing the incident as “probably the worst call I’ve had in my career.” Twenty other people, including three minors, were seriously injured.
“One of the first units was handed a 3-year-old,” Ireland said, overcome with emotion.
The explosion appears to have happened after someone lit an “aerial cake,” a container filled with multiple aerial fireworks, in a driveway, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur Logan said Wednesday at a news conference. The cake then fell to the side, shooting off into crates filled with more fireworks.
A criminal investigation into the incident is underway, Logan said.
On Friday, Honolulu’s medical examiner identified two of the dead as Nelie Ibarra, 58, and Jennifer Van, 23. The third woman remains unidentified.
For those who were critically injured, Ireland said burns covered 20 to 30% of some patients’ bodies and up to 90% of others. Patients also suffered traumatic blast injuries and experienced shrapnel, glass or wood embedding into their bodies after the blast impacted cars and houses.
Ireland said some of the injured may be transported out of Hawaii, which has just one specialized burn unit – at Straub Benioff Medical Center in Honolulu. More deaths are still possible, he said.
The incident sparked fierce condemnation from lawmakers, including Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D), who signed legislation in July strengthening state law enforcement’s ability to address illegal fireworks. A state illegal fireworks task force created in 2023 has so far seized more than 227,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, Green said Wednesday in a statement.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi (I) vowed at Wednesday’s news conference to shut down the “pipeline of illegal fireworks entering our island,” calling the New Year’s disaster a painful reminder of their danger.
Fireworks killed at least eight people nationwide in 2023 and injured about 9,700 others, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The number of fireworks injuries increased by about 561 each year from 2008 to 2023, the commission found in a report, with 35% of fireworks injuries during a month-long study period in summer 2023 affecting hands and fingers.
While the CPSC analysis shows teens between 15 and 19 are most likely to be injured by fireworks, most of the critically wounded patients in the Honolulu disaster appeared to be in their 20s and 30s, Ireland said.
Online fundraisers have been created for those injured, describing the patients as parents of a newborn baby and a mother of two toddlers.
The first 911 call was dispatched two minutes after midnight, according to Honolulu’s emergency services department. The Defense Department’s Federal Fire Department sent additional ambulances from military bases.
Ireland, who said he arrived at the scene at 12:15 a.m., said paramedics set up a triage center on a nearby street. People with critical injuries were prioritized to try to save as many lives as possible, he said. Another 10 to 15 peoplehad minor injuries and transported themselves to get medical care.
When the last ambulance left after 1 a.m., Ireland said he walked to the blast site to survey the area. It was a harrowing scene of debris, shattered windows and objects burned beyond recognition – almost as if a “military bomb had gone off in the front yard,” Ireland said.
“There was the smell of fire,” he recalled, “the smell of people who’d been burned.”