A New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion in Oahu’s Salt Lake neighborhood killed at least three people and seriously injured 20 others, according to the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. A fourth person died on New Year’s Eve from a separate fireworks-related incident at a different location.
What happened
Officials said an aerial cake firework or “cake bomb,” a container that is shaped like a sheet cake and filled with about 50 aerial fireworks, was in the driveway of a Salt Lake home where a party was happening when it was lit by an individual around midnight. The “cake” fell on its side and the aerial fireworks shot into crates that contained additional fireworks, which started going off. “That’s what caused the mass explosion,” said Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan, who spoke at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Two female victims were found dead at the scene, with one in the driveway and the other on the street. Two other victims, identified as a 23-year-old female and a 3-year-old boy, died later at a hospital.
The first 911 call came in at 12:01 on Jan. 1, 2025 about multiple victims at 4144 Keaka Drive, according to Dr. Jim Ireland, the director of Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
Multiple officials at the Wednesday news conference described the scene as a “war zone.” Sheldon Hao, the Honolulu Fire Department Chief, said it looked like a bomb was dropped right in front of the house. Gov. Josh Green said the blast went outwards from the home’s carport, breaking windows in the homes and cars across the street. He also described seeing parts of people’s brains on the homes and cars across the street.
When first responders arrived shortly after midnight, vehicles and people filled the street, making it difficult to get to the scene of the fireworks explosion, according to Ireland. First responders set up a triage area at the corner of Pakini Street and Keaka Drive, several houses away from 4144 Keaka Drive. Honolulu Police Department and Honolulu Fire Department staff used sling devices to transport patients from the residence to the triage area, where they were evaluated by paramedics.
Ireland said 21 people were deemed “critical” with severe burns and shrapnel. Some burns covered nearly 90% of a person’s body. The severely injured patients included a 1-year-old and 3–year-old, according to the governor. Green said the shrapnel also caused injuries to people’s internal organs, including their brains.
Ambulances from throughout the island and from the Federal Fire Department assisted, with a total of 13 ambulances taking 14 people to hospitals, according to Ireland. Because of the severe congestion on the roads, HPD closed Salt Lake Boulevard, which was about two blocks from the triage area, and it was used as an area for ambulances to pull in and pickup patients.
The critically injured victims were transported to Queen’s Medical Center on Punchbowl Street, Straub Benioff Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center, Kuakini Medical Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, Pali Momi Medical Center and Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.
Up to 15 other patients were deemed to have minor injuries, and many of them found their own rides to area hospitals, as first responders focused on people with critical injuries.
While first responders were working to save lives, people at other homes on Keaka Drive continued to set off aerial fireworks, according to the governor.
The fourth person who died during the New Year’s holiday was a 20-year-old male, who suffered multiple traumatic injuries, including a severe arm injury, from a suspected firework blast in Kalihi. On Friday, the Honolulu Medical Examiner identified him as Jayson Ramos.
Officials promise to take action
HPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the cause of the fireworks explosion. Logan, the HPD Chief, said they are determining if lighting the “cake bomb” qualifies as a criminal act and if so, they will work with the prosecutor’s office to charge the individual who lit the aerial cake firework. He said they will also look into the individuals who bought the fireworks at the Salt Lake residence. HPD recovered more than $10,000 worth of fireworks from the scene.
“This tragedy was entirely preventable,” said Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “New Year's Eve should be a time of joy, not danger. Yet the growing prevalence of illegal fireworks on our island has turned it into a night of risk and devastation.”
“This is not an issue of ground enforcement by HPD,” Blangiardi added. “This is a systemic problem. Every aerial firework is illegal, and this means we need to address the root cause, shutting down the pipeline of illegal fireworks entering our islands.”
Blangiardi said his administration is “committed to taking decisive action.” He vowed to coordinate with federal and state agencies to strengthen law enforcement, impose tougher penalties, implement a united effort to stop the import of illegal fireworks via harbors and airports, and explore the use of new technologies.
The governor said he was also committed to taking action to prevent more deaths from the use of illegal fireworks. “I know that this is a deep and important cultural tradition to many people to have some celebration with minor fireworks on New Year's and Fourth of July. But it's taking the lives of young people,” said Green. “I think that there is very likely going to be one or two children under age 10 that will either be forever disfigured or dead in the coming hours.”
Green said the Illegal Fireworks Task Force, which was established in 2023, intercepted 187,000 pounds of illegal fireworks in its first year, and more than 40,000 pounds in 2024.
“But let’s be honest,” he said, “we’ll never be able to catch all this stuff.” Green called on the community to help neighbors “make the right decisions” and not use illegal fireworks.
Officials also encouraged people to report illegal fireworks. To enforce a fireworks violation, an HPD officer needs to see a person lighting the illegal firework or they need a witness with either photographs or a statement about the lighting of the illegal fireworks.
However, Green noted there would never be enough police “to stop all of the activities that's been going on.” He said this “has to be dealt with systemically. We have to shut it down.”
The governor said he would ask the state Legislature to increase the penalty for possessing over 50 pounds of illegal fireworks to a Class C Felony, which would include a punishment of up to 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. Although, the current law states that possessing 25 pounds or more of illegal fireworks is already a Class C Felony.
When asked for clarification, Green’s office provided this statement via email: "Governor Green is having his teams strategize ways to strengthen the enforcement of the current fireworks laws and look at possible amendments to the laws to impose stiffer penalties on those who knowingly violate the law."
The day of the news conference, Green asked people “to pause” their use of aerial fireworks through the weekend. Both for the safety of the community, he said, and also in order to take care of the mental health of the first responders who responded to the “mass casualty” event in Salt Lake.
Hilton Hawaiian Village opted to not hold their regular Friday Night Fireworks show out of respect for the victims.
The governor also said his administration would set up an amnesty program, as they have done for the last couple of years, so people can drop off illegal fireworks without any repercussions.
Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the correct address of the home where the fireworks explosion occured, which was provided by the Honolulu Fire Department; with the name of 20-year-old who died from a fireworks-related accident in Kalihi; with confirmation that a 3-year-old died from injuries sustained during the fireworks explosion; and with clarification about the current fireworks law. (Jan. 6, 2024)