Two local families are suing the town of Syracuse for injuries their children suffered during a July 4 fireworks display at a town park.

Mike and Janet Cavender's 5-year-old son, Stephen, suffered first degree burns to his neck when a ground display exploded unexpectedly and shot into the crowd gathered to watch the fireworks. Christopher Sr. and Vickie Wooldridge's son, Christopher Jr., 2, suffered a small cut beneath his eye, minor burns and a possible ruptured eardrum during the incident.

The Cavenders and the Wooldridges are claiming that the town "was negligent in its capacity as the authority to maintain the Syracuse beach and park," that it "breached its duty to provide a safe environment for the patrons visiting" and failed "to maintain a safe distance between the fireworks launch site and the spectators."

The families were sitting behind the yellow tape that cordoned off the launch site. At the time of the incident, Syracuse Fire Chief Jerry Byrd said that he planned to implement changes for future displays, including moving the crowd back from 250 feet to at least 500 feet from the launch site.

The company that produced the fireworks show, Mad Bomber Productions of Plymouth, is not named in the lawsuit. Mad Bomber has been under scrutiny in several states because of other such accidents, including one July 3 in Alton, Ill., in which three workers were killed when an explosion occurred on a river barge from which fireworks were being launched.

Both cases were filed last week in Kosciusko Circuit Court by Warsaw attorney Michael L. Valentine. A specific settlement amount is not noted, but the Cavenders and Wooldridges are asking for "sufficient" compensation and for court costs. Both lawsuits also ask for a trial by jury. [[In-content Ad]]