A fire broke out in a 40-m² workshop in a fireworks factory. During the middle of the afternoon, a technician removed an electric igniter on a Roman candle firework (comet effect, 10 strikes, 30-mm calibre) by means of cutting the portion of black fuse carrying the igniter. Scissor action on the distributor cap is what ignited the firework. The candle comets caused the onset of fire of cardboard boxes, either empty or containing wood wool and intended for packaging. The fire released heavy smoke for some 20 minutes. The workshop had been housing pyrotechnic accessories (fuses, delays, igniters) used in production, along with a few assembled fireworks not yet packaged (8 candles split between 2 workstations), packages of wrapped fireworks (Divisions 1.3 and 1.4) and packaging supplies, accounting for a total mass of 65 kg of active material. The site alarm functioned normally and the personnel were evacuated. Internal responders were mobilised with reinforcements provided by external fire-fighters some 20 minutes later. An 80-m safety perimeter was set up. All neighbouring installations were secured and the electrical current was cut onsite. The incident was contained 90 min after the alarm was sounded. Two employees present inside the workshop suffered from a state of shock and required emergency medical care; they would resume their activities at the plant the following Monday. Just a single Roman candle was lost during the accident. Some thirty pieces of fireworks had to be destroyed subsequent to their contact with the fire extinction water. Since the level of property damage was limited, the workshop reopened for production the next week. No damage was observed outside of the workshop. Personnel information campaigns on the risks of untimely ignition had been organised. An operating protocol for igniter disassembly lacking the adequate precision would have caused the accident. The operator modified this protocol and notified the personnel. The outcome of this incident was reported during a site inspection conducted on 10th July, 2003.