OCEAN CITY, Md.- The Town of Ocean City has canceled both its downtown and uptown Independence Day fireworks shows after the unintended discharge of fireworks on the beach on Sunday morning.
The town said in a Facebook post that it made the decision to cancel Sunday evening's shows "due to an abundance of caution."
The incident happened on the beach and Dorchester Street. The Ocean City Fire Department said in a news release that it was alerted to a vehicle fire Sunday morning and firefighters responded to find the fireworks that had gone off.
An employee of the fireworks company suffered minor injuries, but refused to be taken to the hospital, officials said.
The department said no one else was injured in the incident, including beach or boardwalk visitors.
The town said in a release that a perimeter around the fireworks site was been established and will remain in place until safety inspections are complete, which could take several days. The town said that at this time, areas of the Boardwalk have also been closed to pedestrian traffic until a thorough safety inspection has been completed.
The cause of the fireworks discharge is still unknown, according to the release. Ocean City fire marshals are investigating the incident and are conducting the safety inspections at both fireworks sites.
A portion of the beach and Dorchester Street is closed to beachgoers.
The accidental fireworks discharge happened here Sunday morning. This is the truck that was transporting the fireworks. (Photo: WBOC)
