http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/05/us-usa-fireworks-maine-idUSKCN0PF0TY20150705

Maine man dies after trying to light firework on his head

A Maine man died during a Fourth of July celebration on Saturday night when he tried to launch a firework from the top of his head and it exploded, killing him instantly, police said Sunday.

Devon Staples, 22, of Calais, Maine, was drinking and celebrating the holiday in a friend's backyard when he placed the fireworks mortar tube on his head around 10 p.m., said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.

McCausland said it was unclear whether the firework was already lit, or whether Staples lit it once it was on his head.

He was killed instantly when it exploded, McCausland said.

The tube Staples was using was a reusable mortar shell but said McCausland said investigators did not know what type of firework he was attempting to shoot.

Maine has allowed the sale of fireworks since lawmakers repealed a 60-year-old ban on them in 2011.

Calais is in the eastern part of the state near the Canadian border.

(Reporting by Karen Brooks in Austin, Texas; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Give the Guy a Darwin-Award!

OMG OBOMBA PLEASE BAN FIREWORKS. THIS TRAGEDY COULD HAVE BEEN SO EASILY AVOIDED IF WE JUST CONFISCATE ALL FIREWORKS!

thats how they think about gun control, it would only be logical to ban fireworks now.

http://heavy.com/news/2015/07/devon-staples-calais-maine-fireworks-accident-man-put-shoot-fireworks-off-head-killed-dead-photos-facebook-4th-of-july-fourth/

Devon Staples: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Published 12:57 pm EDT, July 5, 2015 15 Comments By Tom Cleary 45k

Devon Staples. (Facebook)

A man was killed after setting a fireworks mortar tube on top of his head and setting it off during a Fourth of July party in Maine.

Devon Staples, 22, was with friends in the back yard of a home in Calais, the Bangor Daily News reports.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Staples ‘Died Instantly’ After Setting off the Firework
(Facebook)


Police told the Bangor Daily News that Staples “died instantly” of a head injury.

The accident happened at about 10 p.m. Saturday, police told the newspaper.

“When he suggested he was going to do this, his friends gathered around him and they thought they had convinced him not to do it,” Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland told the newspaper. He said Staples set off the explosive before they could react.

(Phantom Fireworks)

McCausland told the newspaper that it was a reloadable mortar tube firework, like the one seen above, which is available in stores across Maine.

2. His Brother Says Staples Accidentally Set Off the Firework
(Facebook)

Staples’ brother, Cody, told the New York Daily News that his brother was holding a lighter and accidentally set the firework off while holding it on his head.

“I was the first one who got there. There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there,” his brother told the Daily News. “It was a freak accident. … But Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid. He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh.”

According to WCSH, Staples and his friends were drinking before the accident occurred.

A 47-year-old Michigan man was killed in front of his fmaily on June 28 in a similar incident, and police said alcohol was likely a factor there as well, according to USA Today. The man died after the fireworks mortar he was holding to his head exploded.

3. He Lived in Florida & Used to Work as a Character at Disney World
Devon Staples
Staples in a photo from his time working at Disney World. (Facebook)

According to Staples’ Facebook page, he is from Calais and went to high school there. He lived in Orlando, Florida, where he once worked at Walt Disney World as a character.

“He loved it. He loved making people happy,” Cody Staples told the Daily News about his brother. “Anyone who would want to give a tribute to Devon should go out and do something nice for someone. Show some love to someone you don’t know. That kid was all about showing people love.”

Staples who was engaged, listed his current occupation as being self-employed as a “Dog Trainer, Dog walker, Dog Sitter, Dog Lover, Doggy Daycare.”

Staples studied at Washington County Community College in Calais.

4. Maine Legalized Fireworks in 2012
(Getty)
(Getty)

Lawmakers in Maine legalized fireworks in 2012. Staples’ death is the first fireworks-related fatality since then.

The state fire marshal said there were several non-fatal injuries due to fireworks accidents during the Fourth of July holiday, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The state allows only the sale of consumer fireworks, with some exceptions, such as missile-type rockets, helicopters, aerial spinners and bottle rockets, and fireworks banned by federal law.

5. There Were 11 Fireworks-Related Deaths in the United States in 2014

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 11 people died in fireworks-related accidents in 2014.

The commission reported that there were eight fireworks-related deaths in 2013.

15 comments

Mark Wilson says:
July 5, 2015 at 1:32 pm
We need to know if he has produced offspring. If not, score one for Darwin.

Reply
Reckonator says:
July 5, 2015 at 1:38 pm
You’ve got the wrong guy. There are two Devon Staples from Calais, ME, and you’ve just embarrassed one who is very much in the land of the living.

Reply
Peggy B. says:
July 5, 2015 at 10:44 pm
There is no need for comments about Darwin awards etc. I cannot believe how inhuman some people are doing. This man has two parents, siblings, a fiancee who loved him and more than a few friends who are mourning today. It was clearly not a well thought out plan, but it was more of an impulse that was acted on before he or any of his friends could stop it. My mother had a simple rule-If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything. There is nothing funny about what happened to this man last night and a family will mourn forever.

Reply
Jon Potter says:
July 5, 2015 at 2:24 pm
You are an idiot. I grew up with this man, it’s a travesty no one stopped him. Please take this down.

Reply
jason says:
July 5, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Jon Potter,
Now if you grew up with this man, and he did place explosives on his head, you have no reason to refer to other folks as idiots.

Reply
Jonny says:
July 5, 2015 at 5:18 pm
Umm.. So the fireworks mortars were on top of HIS HEAD… but his brother says that he would “NEVER DO ANYTHING STUPID”… Haha…wow….just wow…and Jason (haha exactly!!!)

Reply
Jason Lee says:
July 5, 2015 at 7:09 pm
As much as I like the sweet before pictures, how about some after ones?

Reply
Bob Sinclair says:
July 5, 2015 at 7:10 pm
-BOOM- headshot!

Reply
ejhickey says:
July 5, 2015 at 10:15 pm
“But Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid.” But he did do something stupid, so I guess he didn’t know Devon very well.

Reply
Peggy B. says:
July 5, 2015 at 10:37 pm
“he state allows only the sale of consumer fireworks, such as missile-type rockets, helicopters and aerial spinners and bottle rockets.”

Missile-type rockets, helicopters and aerial spinners and bottle rockets are NOT LEGAL in Maine. A variety of novelty type fireworks with less than a certain amount of powder are legal in Maine. Those mentioned as illegal are all lit from the bottom and each has characteristics that make its flight difficult to predict.

Reply
Jbrisby says:
July 5, 2015 at 11:32 pm
If Devon Staples was black, people would find a way to blame the cops. Notice that when a white guy gets himself killed by being an idiot, other white people dont make excuses for him?

Reply
Chan says:
July 6, 2015 at 1:09 am
I for one think his brother did an excellent job of explaining how this horrific event was an accident, therefore no excuse is needed . What’s disturbing is that at a moment like this you didn’t take the time to send condolences to the friends or family, who are actively commenting as well, but somehow saw fit to spread your racist viewpoints. My prayers are with the family and you as well. Show some respect.

Reply
Isall says:
July 6, 2015 at 12:54 am
Bringing up race was ignorant…

To address the other comments, of course he made a stupid mistake that cost him his life. However, insensitive and disrespectful comments like this are what’s wrong with America. What if this was your brother?

Reply
Anonymous says:
July 6, 2015 at 3:25 am
I am sorry sounds suspicious how can you hold fireworks on your head and a lighter? I also read from some comments that his brother lit it from behind, look it up, I read that soooo, alcohol, shock, and maybe some paranoia? who knows I don’t know Devon, just seems suspicious, and I hear instantly it was an accident, but what really happened?


Conner says:

July 6, 2015 at 6:33 am
Has anyone ever lit a mortar tube firework? You have more than enough time to get rid of it before the lit fuse reaches the main charge. And are we talking about consumer shells or professional shells? It would defiantly be a freak accident if consumer fireworks, not that much concussion.

------------------------------------------------------

Apparently there are TWO -
*Devon Staples"

One is of course alive & embarrassed.
I don't know which is which ?

This reminds me of a television program called 1000 Ways to Die that used to air on Spike tv.

Very unfortunate incident that proves, alcohol, youth and lack of common sense are a common recipe for disaster.

Stupid thing to do. Poor guy.

While not the "Here, hold my beer and watch this" moment in the OP, NY Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul may have lost some money in a fireworks accident this past weekend.

"" This time of year, there are always
warnings about the risks and hazards
involved with shooting off fireworks.
Many listen to those warnings. Some do
not. Jason Pierre-Paul did not, and it
cost him, dearly.
Pierre-Paul, the Giants’ 26-year-old
star defensive end, suffered a serious
but apparently not career-threatening
hand injury Saturday night setting off
Fourth of July fireworks at his South
Florida home.

The timing could not be worse for
Pierre-Paul, who has yet to convince
the Giants to commit to him with
another long-term contract. He has not
yet signed the one-year franchise tag
tender that will pay him $14.8 million
for the 2015 season, a situation that
kept him away from the team for
almost the entire offseason. Pierre-Paul
was hoping for a multi-year extension
that would guarantee him more than
$30 million — the going rate for top-
tier defensive ends is upwards of $12
million per year — but this accident is
certainly not going to help sway the
Giants to invest in him for the long
term.""
http://nypost.com/2015/07/05/jason-pierre-paul-severely-injures-hand-in-fireworks-accident/

Don't worry, they'll get around to it.

Hooray for natural selection!

Now...
Is his mom hawt?
She'll need consoling.

^ The Darwin Awards, right? Another prime example for the advancement of eugenics. Sigh

Joe Dirt

Joe Dirt: You're gonna stand there, ownin' a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser?

Proof that alcohol, explosives, and the IQ of Tupperware are a lethal combination. Can't say I haven't come close a couple times myself to having the halo removed when combining alcohol with vehicles and/or firearms. Sometimes your cosmic number comes up, and your ticket gets punched.

As the saying goes "Never worry about the bullet with your name on it. You can't stop that one. You should however worry about the ones inscribed with 'To Whom It May Concern', they can ruin your day!"

Sorry that Scooter had his life cut short. Condolences to the family.

Who puts fireworks on their heads?

Yup, booze and fireworks; excellent way to drain the shallow end of the gene pool.

Watching idiots hurt themselves,
is worth paying good money to see.

Tell me somebody youtubed it?