Investigation Report: Donaldson Enterprises, Inc. Fatal Fireworks Disassembly Explosion and Fire

Publisher Marketing: On April 8, 2011, at approximately 8:50 am, an explosion and fire occurred at a magazine1 located at Waikele Self Storage in Waipahu, Hawaii, that was leased and used by Donaldson Enterprises, Inc. (DEI) for seized fireworks storage and disposal-related activities. Five DEI personnel in the magazine at the time of the incident were fatally injured. DEI is an unexploded ordnance2 (UXO) remediation company based on Oahu that employs fewer than 20 full-time workers. Pursuant to a federal seized property management contract with the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF), federal government contractor VSE Corporation (VSE) awarded DEI a subcontract in early 2010 to dispose of imported fireworks seized in Honolulu, Hawaii, by federal law enforcement personnel. Three fireworks shipments were seized as contraband3 because they were labeled as consumer grade fireworks but, upon inspection, appeared physically consistent with more hazardous commercial display grade fireworks. Federal contractor selection regulations did not require VSE procurement personnel to conduct a safety- related review of DEI prior to awarding the company the subcontract, nor did VSE procurement personnel involved in awarding this subcontract have training and experience related to fireworks disposal. VSE's procurement office selected DEI as the fireworks disposal subcontractor because DEI was already storing the seized fireworks at the time under a separate subcontract with VSE, and because DEI submitted the lowest-cost and most time-efficient bid, which VSE determined to be the best overall value for the government. VSE procurement personnel were unaware that DEI had no prior fireworks disposal experience when it awarded the subcontract. Because seized fireworks requiring disposal are considered hazardous waste in the United States, DEI was required to obtain an environmental permit from the State of Hawaii Department of Health (DOH). In June 2010, DOH issued DEI a 90-day emergency hazardous waste permit authorizing "thermal treatment"4 of the fireworks at a local shooting range, and DEI began its disposal work soon after. The permit did not evaluate or address fireworks disassembly or diesel soaking. To dispose of the first seizure of fireworks, DEI personnel separated individual firework tubes from their original configuration and soaked the firework tubes whole in 55-gallon diesel-filled steel drums inside the magazine. DEI then transported the soaked fireworks to a local shooting range to burn them in either drums or a portable incinerator.