Devon Staples
Devon Staples died after setting off a firework on top of his head Facebook

A man has died after setting off a firework from the top of his head to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Devon Staples, 22, who worked as a Disney World actor, placed a fireworks mortar tube on his head and set it off while drinking with friends at a party in Calais, eastern Maine on the Canadian border.

His friends had tried to stop him from carrying out the prank, according to public safety officials.

"Apparently, he thought that was a great idea," Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety said.

"His friends they thought dissuaded him from doing it, and the next thing they knew, he ignited the fireworks and he was killed instantly."

His brother Cody, 25, witnessed the incident and said: "There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there. Devon was not the kind of person who would do something stupid.

"He was the kind of person who would pretend to do something stupid to make people laugh."

Staples lived in Orlando, Florida, and worked as a dog walker and at Disney World playing various characters.

Another 32-year-old man was killed in a mortar tube fireworks accident on 4 July.