Pyro Science

Description

An employee plugged a fan into an electrical outlet, generating sparks which caused a fire and explosion that killed another plant employee, Dennis Whitt, and injured several other people. Cornellier had knowledge of substantial fire and explosion hazards at the plant, many of them in violation of OSHA requirements, and he failed to take any steps to correct them or safeguard employees from the known dangers. Cornellier was aware that the company was engaged in manufacturing fireworks without a permit in a structure that did not meet state and local safety requirements, and that, as a result, the manufacturing operations were 'illegal.' Sometime before the explosion, Cornellier was advised by a business associate of safety concerns at the plant. Less than three weeks before the fatal fire and explosion, Cornellier was convicted of six violations of safety ordinances in connection with the manufacture of fireworks at a nearby Milton plant–including storing more than 500 pounds of explosives in a building and manufacturing fireworks in an open frame structure.

Prosecutors

District Attorney James Daley