‘We thought he died’: Witness describes fireworks disaster at Provo’s Stadium of Fire

As they do every Independence Day weekend, Derek Blodgett and his family gathered at Provo’s LaVell Edwards Stadium Thursday night to watch fireworks. Attending the annual Stadium of Fire event has become a tradition for them, and they were particularly excited to see this year’s headliners: the Jonas Brothers.

The show began with a military jet flyover around 8:40 p.m. Blodgett took out his phone and started recording, expecting an exciting opener with some teaser fireworks. The scene quickly became nightmarish as Blodgett’s phone captured three rogue fireworks veering sideways into the crowd.

One firework landed two rows behind him, injuring a man, Blodgett said. The man’s neck was bleeding, and Blodgett watched as he passed out and slumped into his seat.

“We thought he died,” Blodgett said.

Several minutes of panic ensued as those in nearby rows screamed and called for paramedics. Blodgett said off-duty doctors rendered first aid until the paramedics arrived.

“It was something straight from a movie,” Blodgett recalled.

The errant fireworks launched from the stands behind the stage on the stadium’s south end. Blodgett was sitting in the middle section of the stands on the east side. Footage shows at least two other firework landed near the top of the stadium and on to the grass, where some dancers were standing at the edge of the field.

Officials are still working to determine exactly what went wrong Thursday night, said Provo City spokesperson Nicole Martin. At least one person was taken from the scene to the hospital and “several” others were injured. Martin said officials are still trying to verify the number of people hurt, as well as how many mortars were fired into the crowd.

Intermountain Health officials declined to say if, or how many, patients from the event were treated at their facilities.

The show’s organizer, America’s Freedom Festival, released a statement Thursday evening, saying that “safety is of the utmost importance to us” and that all pyrotechnics had been “thoroughly checked before the show, and were rechecked after [Thursday’s] incident.”

“Our thoughts are with those who were impacted, and we are following up with them to make sure they are okay,” the statement continued.

The organization did not immediately respond to The Salt Lake Tribune’s follow-up questions Friday morning about what concerns, if any, crews found when checking the fireworks before and after the event.

Provo Fire and Rescue said in a statement that they have trained for situations like Thursday’s and were able to mobilize rapidly to help the injured. First responders with Provo Fire and Rescue, Brigham Young University and Emergency Medical Services medics responded to the mishap, Provo officials said Friday.

“We never want an incident such as this to happen, but we prepare by planning and coordinating with Brigham Young University so that if it does, we ensure a timely, effective response,” Lynn Schofield, Provo City Fire Marshal, said in a statement.

Blodgett said in his state of shock Thursday evening, it felt like it took a long time for paramedics to arrive in the stands, but he estimates it was likely between 5 and 10 minutes.

“Luckily [the man] only passed out, and he woke up and ended up walking down with the paramedics,” Blodgett said.

According to Blodgett, others near where the firework had hit in his section sustained minor cuts, but nothing serious.

Stadium officials also made a few announcements acknowledging the situation, directing those who had been injured to head to the office, Blodgett said.

While dozens in his section left immediately after the incident, Blodgett and his family stayed, wanting to see the Jonas Brothers perform — despite their newfound nerves.

“When the actual fireworks show started, our whole section was freaked out still,” he said. “We were all covering our heads with our legs and stuff, or hunched over.”

The event was only slightly delayed by the injuries, and The Jonas Brothers still performed as planned.