Five people working on Independence Day fireworks shows were killed by explosions, four of them by a single blast that rocked Ocracoke Island, a remote village along North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Police say the fifth died after an explosion at a fireworks show in Pennsylvania. UPDATE: The fireworks company that employed the four dead workers in the NC accident has been cited before.

It’s hot, it’s windy, and this weekend, people will play with fire. Basically, fire crews tell us, it’s a recipe for a disaster. So they’re asking that you use caution this year, and try to keep the fireworks from getting out of hand. WJBF News Channel 6’s Joy Howe is hot on the story.

Fifteen-year-old Ryan Stancell has lost his hand and most likely have to have both legs amputated after a fireworks accident Thursday night. Stancell is currently at Greenville Memorial Hospital with sever burns on his chest and will need skin grafts, according to his mother. She says they do think he will survive.

Fireworks are synonymous with the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, so are fireworks-related injuries. Melissa Long has some tips on staying safe…in a WJBF News Channel 6 Consumer Alert.

You can celebrate the holiday with us…the annual Independence Day celebration at Patriots Park begins at 4:00 p.m.on the Fourth of July.

Celebrate your independence a little early, at Fort Gordon. An event on post Thursday will start at 5:00 p.m., and continue until 11:00 p.m.