Man Charged after Fireworks Blast on Boat in East Hampton, CT
The Middletown Press, Conn.
(TNS)
Aug. 19—EAST HAMPTON — An East Hampton is facing charges after police say he provided the illegal fireworks that sparked a boat fire on Lake Pocotopaug last month.
Keron Flannery, 73, turned himself in to police Tuesday on an active arrest warrant. He is charged with illegal possession of exploding fireworks, second-degree reckless endangerment and creating a public disturbance, the East Hampton Police Department said in a news release.
Police said the incident occurred on July 5. East Hampton Police Chief Dennis Woessner said last month that town police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel were called to Sears Place at 9:52 p.m. for a report of a fireworks explosion on a boat in the water there.
When police arrived, they saw a pontoon boat about 50 yards offshore emitting heavy smoke and actively burning, according to Flannery's arrest warrant. A crowd of about 40 to 50 people had gathered in the area near the lake watching a private fireworks display being launched from the pontoon boat and other homes around the lake.
Responding units learned that two people on the boat had jumped into the water to avoid the blaze, according to Woessner. Bystanders told police that they had been rescued by nearby boaters, the warrant states.
Flannery, the owner of the pontoon boat, later admitted to police that he had converted the vessel into a platform to launch fireworks, according to the warrant. He told police he purchased about $1,000 worth of fireworks, which are illegal under state law, and "arranged dozens of mortar tubes and launch stations on the boat deck."
Due to a recent back injury, Flannery said he remained ashore and assigned two others to launch the fireworks from the boat, the warrant states.
The fireworks display lasted for about half an hour. Witnesses told police that a firework misfired, going past a wooden barrier that separated the launch area from the stored fireworks, according to the warrant.
"The errant projectile ignited several other fireworks, resulting in a rapidly spreading fire on the boat deck," the warrant states.
The two people on the boat then jumped overboard. They suffered minor burns from the incident and refused further medical treatment, according to the warrant.
The East Hampton Fire Department extinguished the blaze. The boat had significant fire damage to its wooden platform, but was structurally afloat, police wrote in the warrant.
Woessner said the Hartford bomb squad responded to assist with some of the unexploded illegal fireworks.
Flannery was released after posting a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear at state Superior Court in Middletown Sept. 2, police said.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Keron Flannery is alleged to have provided fireworks to others who set them off.
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