A FIREWORKS prank in the middle of Mooloolaba on the weekend could have resulted in serious injury and major property damage, according to experts.
The massive firework was set off by troublemakers near the junction of Parkyn Parade and Brisbane Road – an area surrounded by resort apartments packed with tourists – about 3am Sunday. Explosives expert Jim Houlihan said the consequences could have been horrendous for the pranksters and nearby residents.
Mr Houlihan has seen what fireworks in the wrong hands can do, even decapitating someone who stood over an exploding mortar. "Fireworks are illegal in Queensland unless you have a licence, and you are risking fines of up to $30,000 otherwise," the ex-contractor said.
"If you use them illegally you can endanger yourselves as well as other people who happen to be around you.
"If they are not trained or if the fireworks are not set up correctly, they can fall over and continue to fire causing severe burns and impact injuries.
"The type of force ranges from an air rifle to larger than a 12-gauge shotgun hitting you.
"You can burn gunpowder and it just fizzes, but you put it inside a chamber and it becomes more powerful."
The commotion happened right outside the bedroom window of Newport manager Bernie Sullivan.
"It gave me a hell of a fright," he said. They were like cannons, not just skyrockets ... similar to the ones KC Fireworks uses for the New Year's Eve fireworks.It was very dangerous.
There were apartment buildings that were all full that night either side and if we had had a fire in this place, it would have been disastrous. Another resident living nearby said about a dozen projectiles exploded almost as high as the multi-storey Newport complex. It woke everyone up and people were out on their balconies to see what the noise was, he said.
"It was like a series of really loud explosions that lit the whole place up. It was right in everyone's faces.
Obviously someone had let off very large fireworks, which is crazy amongst all those buildings. He said the prank was just another frustration for residents.
We put up with drunks making noise and idiots hooning around the streets and now we have someone finding a new way of putting lives at risk.
It's just crazy.
The massive firework was set off by troublemakers near the junction of Parkyn Parade and Brisbane Road – an area surrounded by resort apartments packed with tourists – about 3am Sunday. Explosives expert Jim Houlihan said the consequences could have been horrendous for the pranksters and nearby residents.
Mr Houlihan has seen what fireworks in the wrong hands can do, even decapitating someone who stood over an exploding mortar. "Fireworks are illegal in Queensland unless you have a licence, and you are risking fines of up to $30,000 otherwise," the ex-contractor said.
"If you use them illegally you can endanger yourselves as well as other people who happen to be around you.
"If they are not trained or if the fireworks are not set up correctly, they can fall over and continue to fire causing severe burns and impact injuries.
"The type of force ranges from an air rifle to larger than a 12-gauge shotgun hitting you.
"You can burn gunpowder and it just fizzes, but you put it inside a chamber and it becomes more powerful."
The commotion happened right outside the bedroom window of Newport manager Bernie Sullivan.
"It gave me a hell of a fright," he said. They were like cannons, not just skyrockets ... similar to the ones KC Fireworks uses for the New Year's Eve fireworks.It was very dangerous.
There were apartment buildings that were all full that night either side and if we had had a fire in this place, it would have been disastrous. Another resident living nearby said about a dozen projectiles exploded almost as high as the multi-storey Newport complex. It woke everyone up and people were out on their balconies to see what the noise was, he said.
"It was like a series of really loud explosions that lit the whole place up. It was right in everyone's faces.
Obviously someone had let off very large fireworks, which is crazy amongst all those buildings. He said the prank was just another frustration for residents.
We put up with drunks making noise and idiots hooning around the streets and now we have someone finding a new way of putting lives at risk.
It's just crazy.