--- title: Tennessee Fireworks Superstore Burns Down After July 4 description: Just two days after July 4 canonical: https://time.com/2963088/fireworks-superstore-explodes-in-a-blaze-of-irony/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-07T18:06:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:11:26.668Z og:title: Fireworks Superstore Explodes in a Blaze of Irony og:description: Just two days after July 4 og:url: https://time.com/2963088/fireworks-superstore-explodes-in-a-blaze-of-irony/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb337df3dfc363c17/69869ab606f2c102ed32fccc/fireworks-store-fire_gros.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3936 og:image:height: 2214 og:image:alt: Fireworks Store Fire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Fireworks Superstore Explodes in a Blaze of Irony twitter:description: Just two days after July 4 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb337df3dfc363c17/69869ab606f2c102ed32fccc/fireworks-store-fire_gros.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Fireworks Superstore Explodes in a Blaze of Irony > Sponsored content. 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Miles Cary—AP by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Jul 7, 2014 6:06 PM UTC A fireworks outlet near Knoxville, Tennessee, went down in flames Sunday night in a tragic display just two days after July 4, by far the year’s biggest day for colorful explosions in the sky. The fire, which began Sunday afternoon around 4:15 p.m., sent the Campbell County building crumbling to the ground, local ABC affiliate WATE [reports](http://www.wate.com/story/25950592/fireworks-store-on-fire-in-campbell-county-i-75-lanes-shut-down). About five employees and eight customers were inside when the blaze began but everyone managed to get out safely. As the flames grew, sending dark smoke whirling into the sky, fireworks began to go off, causing additional fires near the store. Soon, police shut down both lanes of the nearby interstate, causing traffic to back up for several miles. 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