Fireworks organizers take steps to prevent another barge fire

After two consecutive years of the pyrotechnics barge catching fire during the Fourth of July display at City Beach, event organizers think they may have a solution figured out.

Stopping short of a guarantee, Whitefish Chamber of Commerce director Kevin Gartland says he’s “confident” the show will go off without a repeat of last year — or the year before.

“We’ve talked a lot about what we are going to do to prevent a three-peat,” Gartland said. “There have been several meetings with the fire department, the city parks department and our fireworks provider. I think we’ve figured out what we need to do. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again, but there’s a lot we are doing to try and prevent it.”

Last year, the blaze started about halfway through the show when an ember landed on the plywood-covered barge. Flames fully engulfed the structure during the grand finale, sending a large plume of black smoke into the night sky as thousands of spectators cheered from City Beach.

Whitefish fire crews staged nearby on the city’s fire boat eventually were able to knock down the blaze using a water canon.

Nearly the exact same scenario played out in 2013.

Gartland says this year a new, fire-proof decking has been placed on the barge.

“In the past we used plywood and screwed it to barge,” he said. “We got rid of that stuff and put a fire-retardant product on it.”

The pyrotechnics from Big Sky Fireworks will then spray all of their cannons with a non-toxic fire-retardant product.

Gartland hopes those two changes in procedure are enough to prevent another barge fire.

“You can’t blow off 400 charges in 30 minutes and not have sparks fly around,” Gartland said., “but I’m confident we’ve taken all the steps to minimize a three-peat.”

This year’s fireworks show will last about 26 minutes and starts at dusk — about 10:30 p.m.

“It is without a doubt as many charges as we can fit on the barge,” Gartland said. “It’s the biggest public fireworks display around.”

A free shuttle from the O’Shaughnessy Center downtown to City Beach will run on a loop from 7-11:15 p.m.

The show is presented by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, with funding coming from local businesses and private contributions.