TheSidewinder Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 MOD EDIT: This is a very somber, and sobering, anniversary which is upcoming. I strongly suggest ALL members re-read this.**************************************************************************************************** I hate to be the first one to post this, but: http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/03/26/bnews/br30.txt Our fellow pyro, Tad K as many know him, had an accident that cost him his life. Although I didn't know him personally, I felt somehow that I did, through this and other pyro-related forums. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. This is addressed to everyone: While fireworks may not be inherently dangerous (that's arguable) they are, perhaps to an even greater degree than the Sea or Aviation, terribly unforgiving of carelessness or mistakes. It appears that Tad made a mistake. Tragically, he paid the ultimate price. Though we don't yet know whether Tad did so or not, this should be a VERY sobering warning to those who consider cutting corners in the safety department. Mark 1
Frozentech Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 I also didn't know him personally, but liked his style and evident love for pyro, from Passfire and the Advanced Pyrotechnics group. I am very sad for his wife and daughter, I wrote to Bill Bahr last night to ask if there is a fund being set up for them. Unless the ATFE and local investigators see fit to release details, most likely no one will ever know exactly what happened. From the raw video footage on the missoula TV news site, with the garage levelled, and garage door blown 100 feet away, I would say too much material was on site, regardless of how it ignited. Pyro accidents happen *fast*, and you can't outrun it. Be careful, and stay green.
Frozentech Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 Sights you never want to see - this was Tad K's home & garage/workshop : http://www.cannonfuse.com/projects/blast.asp
pyro4life Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 Horrible to see and read and an extremely tragic price to pay for doing what he loved but it makes you think sometimes, just one mistake is all it takes and your life is gone. I feel for his family and friends, it must be terrible what they are going through at this sad time. RIP Tad K.
ltf Posted March 28, 2007 Posted March 28, 2007 I'm shocked with the amount of energy that was realesed over there. Never had an idea that there are guys who work with such large amounts of explosive meterials.I'm very sad for his family and though I did not know him and never noticed a post written by him its still hard to know that someone died just because he was working on his hobby. Be careful everyone.. All of my remorse to Ted K's family.
Frozentech Posted March 28, 2007 Posted March 28, 2007 I'm shocked with the amount of energy that was realesed over there. Never had an idea that there are guys who work with such large amounts of explosive meterials. It takes a lot less than people might think. I know of a guy who *very* narrowly escaped a similar fate when he was priming crossettes. He was using NC thinned with acetone to make a BP slurry and dipping the exposed bottoms of the comets. Suddenly a sheet of fire blew across his workbench, as acetone fumes flashed from an *unknown* ignition source ( either static or a candle that was blown out 45 minutes earlier ). The fresh prime on the crossettes did it's job, and took fire, he attempted for 1 second to extinguish one, burning his hands pretty badly, then realized what was about to happen, and ran from the room. Crossettes started breaking, and spread burning comet material onto 2 batches of drying stars, also some went about 4 meters clear across the room to another work table. On that table were large ziplock bags of KP and whistle burst mix. Just as he cleared the room, he said the *entire room* went like a blow torch. After the initial blast, he was able to reenter the room with a fire extinguisher and put out the remaining fires. That was from just a few kilos of material. He did 10,000 Euros damage to that one room, was evicted, and of course, had painful burns. I have been really nervous of flammable vapors such as acetone, lacquer, naptha, alcohol etc, ever since, because they can light and spread fire from an unknown source, and lead it right back to you !
Frozentech Posted March 30, 2007 Posted March 30, 2007 There are a couple of funds being set up for Tad Kolwicz's family. For those who are not Passfire members, the 'public' fund is : Tad Kolwicz Memorial Fund c/o Missoula Federal Credit Union 3600 Brooks St. Missoula, MT 59801 I really encourage anyone and everyone to send what they can to help his family out. No doubt that his insurance carriers are going to fight tooth and nail against paying out for a pyro explosion-caused death. His obituary is at: http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/03...ri/07_mar30.txt
tentacles Posted April 1, 2007 Posted April 1, 2007 I didn't know the man, but it's a tragic loss. Disturbing that the newspaper calls his shells firecrackers.
aquaman Posted April 8, 2007 Posted April 8, 2007 Never knew him and now I won't. From the sounds of it he was a great man and the worst happens to the best of us. He's probably up there making fireworks as we speak. RIP Tad K
ns4life Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Turely sad! Those pictures are definately a wake up call for some. I wonder why he didnt have that large of a quantity in a magazine.
CrazyIsraeli Posted May 31, 2007 Posted May 31, 2007 Another great mind lost.We shell forever hold his name in our hearts.Rest In Peace Eugene "Tad" Kolwicz.
gods knight Posted July 11, 2007 Posted July 11, 2007 Thats the problem with becoming a pyro you always think this would happen to someone else, unfortunetly he was someone else to to some other person RIP Tad
TheSidewinder Posted March 17, 2008 Author Posted March 17, 2008 And here it is, almost a year later. Hard to believe it's been that long. But I think it's a good time to pin and reply to this topic so it gets re-read by ALL members, not just the new ones. When you dabble in Pyrotechnics, be you an amateur or a professionl, you are only ONE mistake away from the hereafter. AS I SAID IN MY FIRST POST: Pyrotechnics may not be inherently dangerous but, like Aviation and sailing the Sea, is TERRIBLY unforgiving of mistakes or carelessness. ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT!! You may not get a second chance. It appears our friend Tad, God rest his soul peacefully, found that out the in worst possible way. TheSidewinder
oskarchem Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Yeah, have to say: This is horrible, I have already read about this accident, but now that I re-read it I found that the prss say: "He had papar tubes 2-3" in diameter" what are they trying to say he was a 3" M-8$ maker?!
Mumbles Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 They're trying to pass it off as that. I think the overall general consensus was a stray spark. Some have theorized it was chlorate caused. He had stated a few weeks earlier that he was switching to chlorate colors.
Frozentech Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Yeah, have to say: This is horrible, I have already read about this accident, but now that I re-read it I found that the prss say: "He had papar tubes 2-3" in diameter" what are they trying to say he was a 3" M-8$ maker?! It's hard to trust newspapers when their primary goal is to sell advertising. He had probably boxes of canister shell tubes, I know he was into bulk buys, and sharing the costs with things like rolls of kraft paper, tubes, shell hemi's, etc. He was no M-8* maker, he was into a variety of shells though, crossettes, canister shells of all types, so he *could* have been making bottom shots. I really wish we knew what exactly happened, but like most of the bad accidents, no one probably ever will. I got a nice card from his daughter last year, she said she and her mom were amazed at how many pyro friends contacted them, and the outpouring of support. She also mentioned how much he loved the hobby. She didn't sound like she blamed "pyro" per se, for his death. It's a sad anniversary coming up. Everyone be safe, stay green.
al93535 Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Hard to believe it was a full year ago, seems like only months. I still have all of the pictures and files saved to the HDD. Be and stay safe, Ya never know whats around the corner. Hey FT nice to see you here! How the hell have you been? PM me
ST1DinOH Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 wow it's always sad to hear about a fellow brother of the flame getting killed by his passion. i never knew him, i don't know anything about him, but in this hobby i feel like i somewhat knew the guy. if he was like all the other guys i've met he was personable, friendly, and passionate about pyrotechny. my hats off to him, and TBH i'll probably raise a glass of green beer in his name this evening even though nobody will know who he is. is there any video of his work? if he was this dedicated i'd imagine he made some amazing shells. someone could make a tribute with his vids but i'm not sure if that would be innapropriate or not though. i don't want to overstep here...no disrespect intended...but regaurdless of his cause of death, it's his love of the hobby that should be remembered. along with the overwhelming reminder that this can happen to anyone of us at anytime. RIP Tad K...i'm sure thoes that knew you miss you dearly.
Arthur Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...ficial%26sa%3DX http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/po...37696/img/1.jpg Two links to BBC pics of a small wholesaler's place in the UK going pear shaped.
TheSidewinder Posted March 19, 2008 Author Posted March 19, 2008 A sobering reminder that this can happen to anyone, be they Professionals, Amateurs, or Hobbyists. Sad to see, Arthur.
jlmemt Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 I also can't believe it has been a year! Just the other day I came across his email address. I leave it there, it seems to belong! Be safe all!! Jason
shagaKahn Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 Wasn't on the list last year when this came down--but I have a buddy in Missoula. Just wrote to ask if he has any inside dope on this tragedy. This gets more agonizing the more I read about it. So many near misses with flammable fumes, I'm constantly having to slap myself upside the head to pay better attention. Just yesterday my ole B & D electric drill got a bad bearing squeal so I shot some Marvel Penetrating oil in there. When I hit the trigger again it let off a minor whoom as it started back up: atomized oil particles exploding in the arc. Even when we think we're working in an environment that's free of sparks or other sources of ignition, static electricity is building up in our clothes, our hair.
Frozentech Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 So many near misses with flammable fumes, I'm constantly having to slap myself upside the head to pay better attention. A pet bug-a-boo of mine. Flammable vapors. I am especially leery of acetone, and it's ability to flash from a heat source a good distance away, right back to the NC lacquer / black powder slurry you just dipped a few dozen finished crossette comets in. I know of one definite accident that happened this way. The heat source may be something innocent seeming like a light bulb, a hot water heater a room away, or a small static spark. Stay green.
ST1DinOH Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 So many near misses with flammable fumes, I'm constantly having to slap myself upside the head to pay better attention. A pet bug-a-boo of mine. Flammable vapors. I am especially leery of acetone, and it's ability to flash from a heat source a good distance away, right back to the NC lacquer / black powder slurry you just dipped a few dozen finished crossette comets in. I know of one definite accident that happened this way. The heat source may be something innocent seeming like a light bulb, a hot water heater a room away, or a small static spark. Stay green. when you say lightbulb...do you mean the flash temp for acetone vapors is so low that the hot surface of a light bulb can cause the vapors to combust? or did you just mean there's a possible arcing going on in the light fixture which could cause this phenomenon. if so thats a scary thought. i've worked with acetone a few times when that could have caused a serious problem.
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