MENDOTA, Va. – A 28-year-old man suffered severe burns to his face, hands and arms in an explosion on Saturday night while setting off fireworks for friends and family.
Ricky Millard of Mendota, Va., was putting on a large fireworks display attended by dozens in his community near the intersection of Nordike and Appaloosa roads around 9:45 p.m. when authorities believe a rogue spark ignited a box of fireworks and exploded in his face, said Washington County Sheriff’s Detective Jamie Blevins.
“Oh, he was burned. I won’t go into great detail. But he was burned,” said Matthew Brooks, a friend who saw the explosion and ran to Millard’s aid. “It’s a pretty good-size explosion. He was right in the middle of it.”
Doug Millard, Ricky Millard’s grandfather, said his grandson started the Fourth of July tradition about 15 years ago for the community, which sits on the far fringes of Washington County.
The elder Millard said his grandson saved money throughout each year to afford purchasing such large quantities of fireworks, and in years past between 200 and 300 people have come to see the show.
“It’s a pretty good-sized event. He does it for the kids and community. Everyone from around here comes to watch,” Brooks said. “ ... He’d been shooting them off for – an hour, probably. He probably still had an hour to go.”
Blevins said Millard purchased the fireworks himself and they were together in a box when the explosion happened. He did not know exactly how many exploded, but said he thought it included a number of Roman candles, bottle rockets and artillery shells.
Blevins said he is investigating the incident, but did not know on Sunday what caused the spark. He said it appeared Ricky Millard was leaning down, pulling some fireworks from the box when it exploded without warning.
“It was just a bad accident. It’s just one of those things that happens. You want to keep your fireworks together so you can keep the display going,” he said. “ ... You take the amount of fireworks in the box concentrated into one container and you get a pretty large boom.”
Setting off fireworks is illegal in Washington County, Blevins said. However, Millard will not be prosecuted for the incident.
Ricky Millard was taken to Bristol Regional Medical Center via ambulance after a medical helicopter was unable to transport him because of weather conditions, Blevins said. He was transferred to the burn center at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Blevins could not comment on Millard’s condition on Sunday, but Doug Millard said his grandson was scheduled for surgery on his arms and that his eyes would be OK despite having blurred vision.
“It’s just one of those things that happens, I guess,” Doug Millard said.
News Channel 11 reporter Amber Miller contributed to this report.
ahunter@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2531
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