Smoke billows from fireworks warehouse in Missouri after fire breaks out: Video
A fireworks warehouse in Missouri caught fire on Memorial Day, the company and local fire department said on social media.
The Spirit of '76 Fireworks facility in Boonville, roughly 100 miles east of Kansas City, said on its website Monday a fire was "being investigated" at its warehouse, saying the fire had been contained and the fire department remained on scene to monitor the situation.
"All of our team members are safe and everyone evacuated the building safely," the company said on its website. "We'll provide an update soon once we know more. We would like to thank the first responders on site for their quick response."
"We are on the scene of a working structure fire at Spirit of '76 fireworks," the Cooper County Fire Protection District said on its Facebook page Monday afternoon.
Spirit of '76 VP of Operations John Walker told KMIZ, a TV station based in nearby Columbia, Missouri, the business was alerted around 1 p.m. Monday that fire alarms were going off and found a fire contained to one area. Walker told the TV station the cause of the fire was not known as of Monday afternoon, and that about 20 employees were working in the building at the time.
KMIZ also reported that as of 6:20 p.m. Monday, firefighters had not been able to go inside the building because conditions were not safe, according to Cooper County Fire Protection District Lt. William Johnson. Firefighters were expected to remain on scene until around 10 p.m., and Johnson told the news outlet it would likely take days to determine the cause of the fire.
Boonville Fire Department Chief Tim Carmichael told USA TODAY Tuesday afternoon crews were on the scene for approximately 17 hours and that while no foul play is suspected, the state fire marshal's office is investigating the incident.
What is Spirit of '76 Fireworks?
Spirit of '76 is a fireworks wholesaler founded in 1987 in Columbia by John Bechtold. The company imports and distributed products to over 5,000 customers, the company's website notes.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].