Overview
- Emergency crews responded to a 911 call about a man with face and chest injuries after a firework exploded in his hand on the roof of an abandoned building at the former TCAAP site, with the call coming in around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 5.
- Responders could not use the building stairs so they briefly requested a helicopter and then reached the rooftop with Ladder 113, a 101-foot articulating aerial platform, to treat and remove the victim.
- The man, described as in his 20s, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery and later died from his injuries.
- Investigators say the victim was holding a mortar tube when the shell inside it exploded in front of about 15–20 people and multiple state and local agencies are now seeking statements from those witnesses; authorities have not released the victim’s name or said whether substances or others were involved.
- The case underscores a seasonal rise in fireworks injuries and follows U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data showing 15 firework-related deaths and about 13,000 injuries nationally last year.