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MANTEO (AP) — Electric igniters being pushed into fireworks exploded inside a truck in North Carolina, killing four crew members July 4 on Ocracoke Island, according to a report from federal investigators.

The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., requested the report from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The report says agents got the information from a July 4 interview with someone at the University of North Carolina Burn Center in Chapel Hill.

Although the report doesn't name the person, the lone survivor from the crew was Martez Holland, 27, of Goldsboro, who was treated at the center. The report says the person interviewed was burned over about 20 percent of his body. It said he was heavily medicated but appeared lucid and able to answer questions.

The report says a small explosion occurred as the crew pushed electric igniters into the "tails" of the fireworks. That triggered a larger explosion, the report said.

The larger explosion burned him, the interviewee said.

The ATF report calls the explosion accidental. An investigation by the state Department of Labor is expected to conclude within four months.

The interviewee initially said the crew was working inside the truck instead of outside because the fire department had wet the ground. But then he "stated something only partially intelligible about not wanting to get fireworks on the ground," the report says. He then said "he really wasn't sure why they were doing this in the truck."

After the larger explosion, he said he jumped out of the back of the truck and ran. The four who died were closer to the explosion, he said.

Albert O'Neal, Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department chief, said Tuesday that the department always hoses down the surrounding area before and after a fireworks show to prevent sparks from starting a fire.

Julie L. Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, a fireworks industry trade group in Bethesda, Md., said someone in charge should have known the safety policy.

"The practice is wherever you do it, you do it outdoors in an area where you have egress," she said. "That's one of the most dangerous things you can do."

The victims worked for South Carolina-based, Melrose South Pyrotechnics. The company did not immediately return a phone message left Wednesday.

The state General Assembly this month passed legislation that will require all people who handle fireworks to complete training and be under the direct supervision of a display operator with a permit from the state fire marshal.

It is awaiting the governor's signature.