A U.S. Navy flare washed up on the beach in Anna Maria April 11, injuring a 28-year old who pocketed a fragment.
Early afternoon April 11, a visitor reported to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office that a long, cylindrical object was burning on the beach near the Oak Avenue access.
West Manatee Fire Rescue responded to the call.
Mayor Dan Murphy said April 12 that WMFR made multiple attempts to extinguish the flare before ultimately submerging it in a garbage can filled with water and transporting it to the city’s public works facility.
Murphy said city workers, law enforcement and WMFR swept the beach for fragments.
Late at night between April 11 and April 12, however, a 28-year old man walking on the beach picked up and pocketed pieces of the flare, which apparently appeared like glowing rocks.
The objects ignited in his pocket, causing burns. He was transported to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, where he was reported to be in stable condition April 12, MCSO said in a news release.
MCSO determined the flare was made of burning phosphorus, a highly flammable substance that can ignite when reintroduced to air.
A South Manatee Fire Rescue Hazardous materials team arrived April 12 to sweep the beach and remove any remaining debris.
The public works department stored the flare until it was picked up April 12 by the U.S. Department of Defense.
According to other media sources, military flares, often used in training, have washed ashore elsewhere, including along Asilomar Beach, California, April 10. In December 2017, a military flare washed up in Miami Beach and, in July 2015, a military flare washed up on Siesta Key in Sarasota.