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Magic in the Sky OSHA violations: ‘Company is definitely in a lot of trouble,’ expert says

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Federal investigators have wrapped up their investigation into Magic in the Sky, and are now fining the company more than $100,000.

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Federal investigators have cited nearly a dozen safety violations related to the deadly warehouse fire that resulted in the death of four people last December.

Some of the family said these new OSHA violations will bring light to a lot of unanswered questions, while an attorney said the findings are alarming.

“These are the worst violations I’ve seen in a while against a corporation,” attorney Mark Lippman said. “It just goes over how negligent this company was in the storage of their fireworks in the location of where they were storing them, how they were storing them, where they were storing them.”

READ: 10 OSHA violations cited after deadly blaze in Orange County warehouse containing fireworks

Texas-based fireworks supplier Magic in the Sky used the warehouse to store fireworks that were shipped to SeaWorld and other locations.

“It’s interesting because you read about tragedies in commercial properties all the time … and you don’t ever hear OSHA coming in to do an inspection,” Lippman said. “I suspect because it was the nature of what was being stored there, the loss of life and the fact that the place burned to the ground that OSHA was called in.”

READ: ‘She’s strong’: Woman who survived warehouse fire that killed 4 remains in medically-induced coma

While the exact details of each violation are unknown, the report does show a slew of citations labeled “serious,” several of them for violating the management of highly hazardous chemicals and storing them in a hazardous location.

“The company is definitely in a lot of trouble because, not only did four people die, an additional fifth person got injured,” Lippman said. “Sounds like they committed fraud with at least the city and the county.”

READ: Deadly warehouse fire ignited by fireworks ‘testing,’ new lawsuit claims

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.