Fire in truckload of fireworks sparked red, white and BOOM
By Aaron Moore
Published in News on June 30, 2010 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Goldsboro firefighters clean up the damage after a pickup truck carrying a load of fireworks caught fire on U.S. 70 near Stevenson Honda shortly before lunch Tuesday.
A small fireworks explosion ignited in the bed of a pickup truck in Stevenson Honda's dealership parking lot off U.S. 70 Tuesday around lunchtime.
Emergency medical technicians responding to the explosion said they believed the driver of the truck, Lyle Goodling of Dudley, was returning the fireworks to the seller for a refund when they began fizzing and sparkling in the back of his truck, causing a fire. He immediately pulled his vehicle off the service road into the dealership parking lot upon noticing the flames.
Responders said they could not be sure of the exact cause of the explosion, but they believe it may have been sparked by a cigarette Goodling threw out of his truck window that landed amongst the fuses.
Goodling refused to comment on the accident or how it might have started.
No one was hurt and Stevenson Honda claimed no property damage.
Two employees at the Honda dealership, Nick Buroughs and Jerome Braswell, witnessed the explosion take place and ran out with fire extinguishers to subdue the blaze in the parking lot.
Goodling reportedly tried to save some of the fireworks after he got out of the vehicle, but was quickly forced back as the fire grew.
The Goldsboro Fire Department Stations One and Three and emergency medical technicians arrived soon after and quickly quenched the growing fire.
According to Assistant Fire Department Chief Eric Lancaster, the fireworks were legal, the same kind that can be purchased at local stores or roadside stands for Fourth of July celebrations.
The load also weighed well under 1,000 pounds, which Lancaster said is the limit for how heavy a load can be if it is transported in the back of a pickup truck.
"Anything projectile is illegal," Lancaster said. "These don't shoot, so they're considered safe."
Since there was no damage and Goodling was handling the fireworks legally, no charges were filed against him.