‘All it takes is one little spark’: Manager of Hickman firework stand describes close call

HICKMAN, Neb. (KLKN) — A firework stand in Hickman nearly had an explosive situation last weekend after people broke the law.

Jaxson Weber is the manager of Ka-Boomers.

A few nights ago, while he was working, Weber saw someone lighting fireworks in a field about 10 to 15 feet from the tent.

He said it was a blatant violation of the signs posted, which say nothing can be lit within 300 feet, according to state law.

“All it takes is one little spark, and it could have the whole thing up in flames,” Weber said.

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He asked the group to move, and they did.

But then it got worse.

“There was another group that came up, and they had some Roman candles,” Weber said. “I saw a flaming red ball go by the tent there. and that’s when I was like, ‘Alright, we’ve got to do something.'”

When he asked the second group to move, they were more argumentative.

He had to call the sheriff’s office, but the group ran off before deputies could get there.

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“I wasn’t really worried about the fireworks,” he said. “I was more worried about our customers and our employees here, making sure they were OK because if one of those goes off, you have about 15 seconds before the whole tent is up in flames. So we’re just glad that everything turned out alright.”

Weber said this has become more of a problem recently.

“They want to have fun; they don’t really think about all of the technical rules and stuff,” he said. “They really just lack respect for people.”

Now, Weber is being even more diligent when it comes to the rules, and he put up more signs around the tent.

He’s hoping everyone will learn from what happened before someone gets hurt.

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