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Fireworks explosion results in 1 death in Gilmer

Wednesday Morning Newscast Graphic
Lindsey Wiley
/
Texas A&M University-Commerce

Authorities say the explosion and fire at a local events center seems accidental.

In Gilmer yesterday, one person died and four were injured after a fireworks explosion at an event venue. Authorities responded to a “major fire” around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Firehouse 9 Farm venue in Gilmer. The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office said the fire seems accidental. The explosion seems to have occurred as fireworks were being prepared for a Fourth of July event. The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the fire.

Another accidental death involving a northeast Texas resident happened over the holiday weekend. A four-year-old boy from Paris drowned in a hotel swimming pool in Galveston Saturday night. Police say Asher Rayburn of Paris drowned at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston around 9:30 p.m. last Saturday.

In Greenville, police continue to investigate the death of a woman whose body was found on Interstate 30 on June 27. Police responded to reports from the public of a body in median of the 6400 block of I-30. Officials say the woman does not appear to have been the victim of foul play, nor does she appear to have been in a vehicle accident. The incident is under investigation.