Zambelli employee died of neck trauma

By Jeanne Starmack

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Zambelli Fireworks Internationale says it is saddened by an accident Saturday that killed an employee in Quakertown, Pa.

David A. Walker, 19, of Pulaski was killed when a shell malfunctioned at a fireworks display around 9:30 p.m., causing an on-ground explosion, said Bucks County Fire Marshal Nicholas E. Rafferty.

The explosion caused destruction of the shell’s containment bunker, Rafferty said.

Wooden debris struck Walker, who was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Quakertown. He was pronounced dead there.

The Bucks County Coroner’s Office said Monday that the preliminary cause of death for Walker was neck trauma.

The Pennsylvania State Police and the Philadelphia Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also are investigating the accident.

“On behalf of all the employees of Zambelli Fireworks, our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Mr. Walker’s family and friends,” Doug Taylor, president and CEO of the company, said in a prepared statement.

“The highly qualified staff of Zambelli Fireworks is trained on a regular basis,” Taylor continued. “Safety is, and always has been, our No. 1 priority.”

Zambelli, which has a plant on Harbor Road near New Castle, would not say how long Walker worked for the company.

A search of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data from 1972 until present indicates two investigations into accidents involving Zambelli fireworks, one of them a fatality in August 2002.

Vindicator files say Angelo Marafioti, 63, of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., was unloading fireworks from a truck at a storage bunker in Newburgh, N.Y., when there was an explosion. Marafioti was unloading fireworks from a show that had been canceled because of bad weather.

OSHA data indicate Zambelli was not found in violation for the accident.

A July 2001 accident in Michigan did not involve any fatality, and the company was fined $375 for five violations, OSHA records indicate. The records did not give details of that accident, and a spokeswoman at the OSHA field office in Philadelphia was not immediately able to provide those details.

OSHA began investigating Saturday’s accident Sunday, the spokeswoman said. The agency has six months to complete its probe.