The state fire marshal’s office is investigating after three pyrotechnics crewmembers were injured in a fireworks malfunction during an Independence Day display at Sunday River ski resort Saturday. The incident happened around 9:15 p.m. at the resort on Barker Mountain Road in Newry, where a five-inch firework shell and mortar tube failed during the show, according to a news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Misty Mellor, 50, of Bath, an assistant on the Central Maine Pyrotechnics crew, suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she remains hospitalized and is recovering, the department said. The show’s lead technician was brought to Rumford Hospital, treated, and released the same evening, the release stated. Another assistant suffered minor injuries and did not require hospitalization.
The display was part of the resort’s Fourth of July festivities. No spectators were hurt, and the remainder of the show was canceled following the blast, the department said in the release. The cause of the malfunction remains under investigation.
