Crestline — Authorities investigating a fatal explosion at a fireworks storage site in southeast Kansas said Friday that they are focusing on a single crate they say exploded while it was being loaded into a truck.
The subsequent chain reaction of explosions and fire at the Fireworks Spectacular Inc. warehouse killed two people and injured four Thursday.
Two of the injured men, Cody Soper, 21, and Craig Banke, 32, still remain at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Mo. Ryan Holding, 24, and Michael Lee Dalton Jr., 34, were treated and released.
The two men who were killed were identified as Faron Trey Robinson, 29, and Daniel Lee Groves, 29, both of Scammon.
Investigators with the Kansas State Fire Marshal's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office on Friday released their preliminary findings.
They said the six men were loading aerial display fireworks from a storage magazine to a trailer, which was headed to St. Louis for a series of fireworks displays there. The 40-acre storage site is 20 miles southeast of Pittsburg near the Missouri border.
Investigators said the fireworks shells were pre-squibbed, which means an electric match was attached to the shell's fuse before loading. They said most companies do this because it's considered safer than having pyrotechnicians attach matches in the field.
As the boxes were being loaded, witnesses said one box made a sound and exploded, setting off a chain reaction with the other crates.
The investigation is now zeroing in on what caused the box to ignite.
Fireworks Spectacular produces large, public displays throughout the nation.
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