SHAMOKIN - A volunteer shell loader for Sunday night's fireworks display experienced superficial burns to the face and is expected to return home today, said the Citizens Fireworks Inc. (CFI) president Monday.
"He (Michael Fuller) has been shooting with us for years. It was just a freaky accident," said Glenn A. Knarr, president of the non-profit that has organized Shamokin's fireworks for the past 27 years.
Fuller, he said, was lighting a shell when the lift charge detonated early, giving him burns comparable to a sunburn.
"He didn't even want to go to the hospital," said Knarr.
Fuller was originally taken to Shamokin Area Community Hospital, who referred him to the burn center at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown.
Otherwise, he said, his lungs and skin were checked and he's doing "fine."
The fireworks, which are shot from the Glen Burn culm bank, are sponsored by Citizens for a Better Community (CBC) and Citizens Fireworks Inc. (CFI).
Volunteers from CBC conducted roadside collections for the fireworks Sunday on Route 61 at Pool World and Len's Automotive, and Second and Independence streets in Shamokin, raising $6068.40.