Fire causes short delay in Wawasee fireworks finale

By Deb PattersonStaff WriterA fire on the barge carrying the mortars for the Lake Wawasee fireworks finale delayed the final big bam boom for 20 minutes Saturday, July 7. Many had already started their trips home when the ending began lighting up the night sky.No one was injured in the fire as the fireworks are set off remotely.According to an email to WPOA board members from Chris Campbell, fireworks chairman, a fire burned one of the five main lines feeding the show. The line that burnt was the line to the finale, which caused the show to stop. The crew from Melrose Pyrotechnics put out all fires, rewired the lines and shot the rest of the show, once everything was safe to do so.Further inspection found the fires were mostly “box” items that shoot multiple shots from one box. These fires also burnt a hole in the decking of the barge.According to Campbell it is not unusual to have a couple of fires each year on the barge, but this year there were a few more fires than usual.