A large firework exploded inside a car in Gold Bar on New Year’s Eve, sending two people to the hospital with serious injuries.
“Initial reports are explosion caused by fireworks, both patients are seriously injured and now being transported,” Sky Valley Fire wrote on social media in an update.
One victim, a woman, suffered serious injuries to her face, whilst the other victim, a man, suffered serious hand injuries, according to reports.
The firework may have been a mortar shell, Sky Valley Fire said.
The incident is under investigation, as it is unclear how the firework was set off.
A firework exploding inside a vehicle creates a confined blast environment where the force, heat, and shrapnel have nowhere to dissipate. Unlike outdoor detonations where energy expands in all directions, a car interior focuses the explosion’s effects on anyone inside.
The woman’s serious facial injuries suggest she was either holding the firework when it detonated, sitting directly in front of it, or the explosion occurred at face level. Facial trauma from explosions can include burns, lacerations from flying debris, eye injuries, and damage to the jaw and teeth.
The man’s serious hand injuries indicate he was likely handling the firework when it exploded. Hand injuries from fireworks range from burns and lacerations to traumatic amputations of fingers or entire hands depending on the explosive’s size and proximity.
Mortar shells, if that’s what exploded, represent some of the most powerful consumer fireworks available. These devices launch projectiles that travel 100 to 300 feet before exploding in aerial displays. Designed to be fired from tubes anchored in the ground, they contain substantial explosive charges.
A mortar shell detonating inside a car instead of in the air would direct all that explosive force into the vehicle’s interior. The car’s windows and doors would amplify the blast pressure whilst containing heat and debris.
New Year’s Eve timing means the explosion occurred during peak firework activity when people across the region were setting off pyrotechnics to celebrate. The festive context makes the injury even more tragic, celebration turned to trauma in an instant.
How the firework ended up exploding inside the car remains the critical unanswered question. Possibilities include someone lighting it whilst sitting in the vehicle, the firework being accidentally ignited by heat or spark inside the car, or someone placing a lit firework in the vehicle either as a prank or with malicious intent.
Gold Bar’s location in the Cascade foothills east of Everett means this rural community likely has residents who purchase and use fireworks for celebrations, though Washington law restricts firework sales and use to specific dates and types.
Sky Valley Fire’s immediate social media update about the incident demonstrates modern emergency response communications, alerting the public to the serious incident whilst responders were still on scene.
The “now being transported” language in the fire department’s post indicates both victims required hospital care beyond what could be provided at the scene. Serious facial and hand injuries from explosions typically require specialised trauma care.
The investigation into how the firework was set off will examine whether this was an accident, recklessness, or something more deliberate. Accidentally lighting a mortar shell inside a car seems unlikely given the size and obvious danger of such devices.
The victims’ relationship to each other, whether they’re partners, friends, or family members, hasn’t been disclosed but will be relevant to understanding what happened. Were they both trying to set off fireworks? Was one injured trying to help the other?
Firework injuries spike around holidays like New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, with emergency rooms treating thousands of injuries annually. Most involve burns and hand injuries, with many victims being young adults engaging in unsafe handling of pyrotechnics.
The confined space explosion inside the car may have caused hearing damage beyond the visible facial and hand injuries. Blast waves in enclosed spaces can rupture eardrums and cause permanent hearing loss even when other injuries seem more immediately serious.
