At a pyrotechnic plant, an explosion occurred inside a (200-m²) non-pyrotechnic shop area during the handling of recreational fireworks. This explosion was followed by a fire that ravaged the entire shed facility. The investigation revealed that the onsite technician had been manually loading the 65-mm star shells in this shed, which was also being used to store combustible materials (wood, cardboard boxes, etc.). He had been working alone, without any supervision, and had only recently been hired by the company. During this handling operation, one of the products involved had reacted, causing a chain reaction with other products nearby. The technician, unable to flee the workspace in time, was burned alive. According to the initial findings, the company had failed to respect basic safety rules relative to a pyrotechnic activity: absence of a workplace safety report, lack of procedural guidelines, no personnel certification process, use of products with poorly-known characteristics, inadequate work environment…