Plymouth Fireworks Barges Catch Fire During Celebration
PLYMOUTH (CBS) -- Investigators Tuesday morning are hoping daylight can help them get a better idea of what caused a massive fire on two barges used to set off Plymouth's Fourth of July fireworks display Monday night.
Plymouth police confirmed on Twitter that a barge caught fire during the fireworks, and said another barge also had a malfunction.
Malfunction caused fire on first barge. Second barge had another malfunction. No injuries occurred. Fire Marshall is investigating.
— Plymouth Police Dept (@Plymouth_Police) July 5, 2016
Witness Danielle Harrington was watching the display from a boat about 3/4 of a mile from the barge. She said about halfway through the show, something went wrong.
"The fireworks went off, and the explosion went from one end to the other, and it was just all smoke, but everything lit up at once going down the whole barge," said Harrington.
Some on social media said it appeared that all the fireworks went off at once.
"We only had 15 minutes of fireworks, and then everything stopped." "It wasn't really scary, it was more concerning."
Plymouth Police said a malfunction caused the fire.
"There was an onset of quite a few fireworks, and then you could see the fire start," said David Gould, Plymouth Marine and Environmental Affairs Director.
Officials say the flames may have then spread to the second barge. Multiple agencies responded, and luckily, nobody was hurt.
"Any time you have two barges filled with that kind of material, you always want to make sure everyone is safe, and it's fortunate that everyone was," said Gould.
The State Fire Marshall's office is currently working to determine the official cause of the fire.