NSW: Intruder may have caused fireworks factory blast

AAP General News (Australia)
12-09-2007
NSW: Intruder may have caused fireworks factory blast

By Vincent Morello

SYDNEY, Dec 9 AAP - A massive explosion at a fireworks factory west of Sydney may have
been caused by an intruder, police say.

A 1km exclusion zone remains in place around the site of the blast at Wallerwang near
Lithgow in the NSW central west, but at this stage there have been no reports of injuries.

Police said a container of fireworks exploded at the plant shortly after 10pm (AEDT) yesterday.

The blast was heard up to 30km away, and blew out windows and doors in eight nearby homes.

Police suspect the blast may have been caused by someone who entered the site illegally
and have yet to determine if doors found open to some of the structures were blown off
or broken open by an intruder.

No employees were officially on site at the time.

Business owner Andrew Howard today could not confirm if there was a break-in at the
site but said police were looking into the possibility.

"I'm sure the investigating team will not rule that out," he said.

Firefighters had been forced to stay 500m from the explosion site, because of safety
reasons, while the fire burns itself out, authorities said.

"It's going to take some time before they can assess the site," Rural Fire Service
spokeswoman Rebel Talbot said.

A 2.5km exclusion area for aircraft also remains in force.

Residents within a 1km radius were evacuated after the explosion fired chards of metal,
blowing out windows and doors of eight nearby homes.

The blast has thrown into doubt the future of this year's New Year's Eve fireworks
displays in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, which levelled almost half the family-owned
factory. Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks are not affected.

The blast also means 150 employees at the Howard & Sons company will be out of work
over the holiday period.

Mr Howard choked back tears when describing the destruction to the pyrotechnics factory,
which has been in his family for four generations.

Howard & Sons has been operating for more than 85 years, supplying firework displays
to major events, including New Year's Eve (NYE) celebrations in capital cities and the
2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

The NSW Police Force said the explosions such as this rarely happen on their own.

"We believe someone is responsible for it," a spokesman said.

Mr Howard said all 50 buildings on the 154ha bushland property were damaged, 20 of
which were completely destroyed.

The site is worth around $6 million and estimates the damage could reach half that amount.

"If there was ever a worse time this could happen, this would be it," Mr Howard told AAP.

"We're devastated really."

About 25 full-time and 125 casual employees will be out of work for at least a week
and NYE celebrations in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane will be affected.

"We'll do the best we can to look after our employees - it's one big family," Mr Howard said.

The company supplies official fireworks displays for NYE celebrations in those cities
but does not have a contract for the Sydney Harbour Bridge display.

"I'm devastated at the situation but I'm relieved no one was injured," the 31-year-old
Mr Howard said.

AAP vpm/arb/sco/arb/bwl

KEYWORD: FIREWORKS 3RD DAYLEAD

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