Watching fireworks light up the sky with dazzling colors and configurations is such a thrill, we often forget that making those shows happen requires literally playing with fire.
Here in East Tennessee, we’ve had our share of fireworks disasters.
The smallest mistake can set off a monster chain reaction. It’s the tragic side of a favorite pastime that’s claimed lives and livelihoods through the years.
Benton fireworks factory explodes
Windows shattered and photos fell from the walls in nearby houses when an explosion destroyed an illegal fireworks factory in Benton in 1983. The boom was heard as far away as Cleveland, about 15 miles away, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported May 27, 1983…