Tulsa Drillers Say Fire Caused By Fireworks Show 'Freak Incident'

The Tulsa Drillers said they still plan to have firework shows in the future after one caused a fire at a downtown construction site over the weekend.

The team said they've done hundreds of fireworks shows over the years and this was the first time something like this has happened.

The fire happened Friday night around 9:30 p.m. and was on the roof of a soon-to-be apartment complex across the street from the baseball stadium. Some building materials like plastic wrap and insulation caught fire just after the firework show.

"Like a typical firework show, we've been doing them for 40 plus years kind of a freak incident I guess. An ember, sounds like it from what I heard, an ember caught some insulation materials that were up on the top on fire," said Mike Melega, Drillers Team President and General Manager. 

Melega said he's been with the team for 27 years and has never seen anything go wrong with the fireworks.

"We've been downtown for 11 years and shot over 250 firework shows; never had an incident," Melega said.

The Tulsa Fire Department responded to the fire around 9:45 and quickly put it out. Mark Melega said despite the accident, they still plan on having firework shows in the future.

"We make sure that we continue doing the things that we can do like checking and getting approval, making sure the fire marshal’s involved and we continue to move forward in that way," said Melega.

The fire department said no one was injured. They said the fire marshal is in contact with the fireworks company to make sure all the correct guidelines were followed.

The property owner said the fire wasn't a major issue, but will set construction back a few weeks.

The City of Tulsa said they are putting a temporary hold on firework permits in that area until the risk of construction materials catching fire is no longer a concern.