Final preparations underway for Stadium of Fire; fireworks inspections ramped up in light of 2024 mishap
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- The outside of LaVell Edwards Stadium on the campus of Brigham Young University with a banner promoting the Rascal Flatts performance at Stadium of Fire is shown Thursday, June 26, 2025.
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- The crowd watches as a member of Provo Fire & Rescue searches for an injured person after an errant firework exploded among attendees during Stadium of Fire held at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Thursday, July 4, 2024. Several people were injured when fireworks misfired and struck members of the audience inside the football stadium, police said.
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- This photo, taken Thursday, July 4, 2024, shows the moment after stray fireworks shot into a crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium during a performance as part of Stadium of Fire in Provo.
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- A photo from July 4, 2024, shows fireworks erupting into the air before some landed in the crowd during a performance at Stadium of Fire at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo.
Final preparations are underway ahead of Friday’s Stadium of Fire at LaVell Edwards Stadium on the campus of Brigham Young University.
The annual Fourth of July event features what organizers call the nation’s largest stadium fireworks and drone spectacle, plus a thrilling flyover by F-35 jets from Utah’s Hill Air Force Base and tributes to military and civilian heroes.
Multi-platinum country music trio Rascal Flatts will take the stage at Stadium of Fire, marking their first time performing at the event.
Producing an event of such magnitude doesn’t come together overnight, as most the planning and preparation begins months in advance.
That includes countless run-through sessions with planned entertainment for the event, including the Stadium of Fire dancers and performers, as well as the fireworks productions.
Emory Cook, communications manager with America’s Freedom Fest at Provo, which organizes Stadium of Fire, said that as Friday approaches, final rehearsals with dancers and performers will happen during the week, in addition to fireworks inspections and ongoing meetings with Provo police and fire departments, as well authorities at BYU.
“We have meetings with them throughout the season, to make sure everyone’s just kind of ready to go, to respond to anything and everybody’s safe,” he said.
Cook said it’s a collaborative effort on all fronts each year to ensure the show goes off without a hitch.
Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield said fire officials and event organizers are in talks early in the year to discuss the upcoming show and what it may entail.
As the Stadium of Fire event draws closer, his team of technicians begins reviewing the permit applications, learning what fireworks may be used during the event. That’s followed by inspections throughout the setup.
“(The) permit information tells us kind of what kind of product they’re planning on shooting,” he said.
The permit also helps fire crews determine where safety or buffer zones should be placed throughout the stadium, he added.
However, an unexpected commotion transpired last year during the Independence Day celebration when fireworks malfunctioned and launched into the crowd, injuring more than two dozen people.
At a February press conference, Schofield presented the findings of a monthslong investigation into the incident and said the error was caused by “uncontrolled deflagration” in a whistle firework.
Following the investigation, Cook said some changes have been made to this year’s fireworks presentation.
“So like those whistle fireworks, for example, that malfunctioned — those won’t be in the stadium this year,” he told the Daily Herald. “There is a new fireworks company we’re working with, so that’s also different this year.”
Stellar Fireworks, a Kansas-based company which had for many years been responsible for the pyrotechnics at Stadium of Fire, told KUTV after last year’s mishap that all of the devices had been checked prior to the show, but there was a problem inside one of the devices that caused the fireworks to go awry.
Both Cook and Schofield told the Daily Herald on Monday that fireworks always go through rigorous inspections before Stadium of Fire.
The fire marshal said crews are taking extra precautions this year to ensure a safe show.
On Monday, Schofield said he and his staff would be on the field at the stadium throughout the week as pyrotechnicians are setting up for the event’s fireworks display.
“And then on Friday, we’ll spend several hours going through each individual set piece, making sure it’s properly configured according to plan,” he told the Daily Herald.
Schofield said in light of last year’s fireworks mishap, they learned that some devices and products shouldn’t be allowed in the stadium. Despite the accident, he hopes people attending this year’s Stadium of Fire can feel safe and enjoy all that the event has to offer.
“We can do everything we can, just like we have these years past to try and make sure that everybody has an opportunity to come and enjoy a safe, exciting Stadium of Fire with this concert and fireworks show,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are some things that we just can’t detect. We do our very best, and we’ve done that again this year.”
In addition to the concert and fireworks, a tailgate, a free family street dance after the fireworks and other activities will take place as part of Stadium of Fire.
For more information and recommendations from the Utah Department of Transportation on traveling to the stadium, visit freedomfestival.org/stadium-of-fire.
