Survivor of fireworks blast headed home

Martez Holland, 27, was the sole survivor of a fireworks blast on Ocracoke Island earlier this month.

Posted 4:41 p.m. Jul 21, 2009 — Updated 4:56 p.m. Jul 21, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The lone survivor of a fireworks explosion that killed four people over the Fourth of July is headed home from the hospital.

Stephanie Crayton, spokeswoman for UNC Hospitals, said Martez Holland was released Monday from the North Carolina Jaycees Burn Center.

Holland, 27, of Goldsboro, was one of five people contracted by South Carolina-based Melrose South Pyrotechnics to set up the fireworks display for an Independence Day celebration on Ocracoke Island.

Holland said he and the others had parked their truck and were getting ready to work on the fireworks' fuses when the explosion happened.

Holland's uncle, Terry Holland, 49; Mark Hill, 21; Charles Kirkland Jr., 49; and Lisa Simmons, 41, died from injuries sustained in the explosion.

The Lord's Table Church, where some of the victims attended, has set up a fund to benefit the victims' families. Donations can be made by calling 919-751-8188 or by mailing checks payable to The Ocracoke Fireworks Disaster Fund, c/o The Lord's Table, P.O. Box 11049, Goldsboro, N.C. 27532.

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