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Man's Hand Blown Off In Fireworks Blast

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON and ROD CHALLENGER, The Tampa Tribune News Channel 8

Published: December 29, 2007

Updated: 12/29/2007 12:17 am

ST. PETERSBURG - Tony Giaccone had just gone to bed Thursday night when he heard a blast from the house next door, one so strong it blew out the windows in a bedroom.

By the time Giaccone got outside, he found neighbor Mark Wolf stumbling in a state of shock, splattered with blood.

It wasn't his.

Wolf's business partner and houseguest, Paul Clements, 46, had just tried opening a pyrotechnic mortar with a screwdriver and it exploded, ripping off Clements' left hand at the wrist, authorities said.

For years, the two have worked together putting on fireworks displays, family members said.

After Giaccone, accompanied by his wife, Jane, made it inside Wolf's house at 4910 52nd St. N., they saw Clements and comforted him, he said.

"Paul was laying on the floor and his hand was completely blown off," Giaccone said. "So we just comforted him and they called 911 ... It was horrible to see. We just kept him awake, kept him going, to make sure he was OK."

Clements also had injuries to his eyes, face, right arm and upper body, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said. He was taken to Bayfront Medical Center after the 11:30 p.m. blast, and was in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

"Due to the nature of Clements' injuries, deputies have been unable to interview him completely to learn why he was trying to pry open the fireworks shell," sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said.
Pasha said Clements had been staying at Wolf's home, in the same bedroom where the accident occurred.

Also in the bedroom were Wolf, 49, Wolf's son, Carson, 11, and Carson's friend Cassie Techton, 11. The three were watching Clements as he tried to pry open the mortar, the spokesperson said.

Wolf and the children were treated at Bayfront and released, the sheriff's office said. Pasha said Wolf suffered singed hair and a concussive injury to his hearing; Wolf's son also suffered a hearing injury; and Cassie received a burn to the right arm and a hearing injury.
Deputies were told that Clements is experienced with handling large fireworks. He is licensed, has designed fireworks displays and intended to present one in Steinhatchee during the New Year's weekend, they were told.

Outside the house, in the bed of a pickup Clements was using, were racks of mortar launching tubes, Pasha said.

"This wasn't your typical firecracker going off in the house; this is a bomb," said Lt. Jim Millican, of Lealman Fire District, whose firefighters responded to the blast. "This is what they use to put out your large displays that you see New Year's."

Clements' mother, Edna, 77, said Clements has been preparing fireworks displays at various locations throughout Florida, including Kissimmee, for more than a dozen years.
Paul Clements and Wolf, both of whom work in the lawn maintenance industry, put on the displays together, she said.

"They've been doing it together for years," the mother of eight said. "That's why I'm wondering what went wrong. It had to be a faulty wire or faulty something because they know how to handle the fireworks."

"My son is really cautious," she said. "He goes by the rules because he knows how dangerous it is."

Edna Clements said her son's wife, Jackie, and their two children were at Bayfront with Clements, who was being moved from the emergency room to a regular room.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson @tampatrib.com.

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