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Fireworks Related Injuries
What is the safest way to prevent fireworks injuries?
The safest way to prevent fireworks-related injuries is to leave fireworks displays to trained professionals.
How extensive is the problem?
Last year, four persons died and an estimated 10,800 were treated in emergency departments for fireworks-related injuries in the United States.
An estimated 5% of fireworks-related injuries treated in emergency departments required hospitalization.
Who is most likely to be injured?
About 60% of all fireworks-related injuries last year occurred between June 18 and July 18. During that time period:
- About 45% of persons injured from fireworks were children ages 14 years and younger.
- Males were injured by fireworks more than twice as often as females.
- Children ages 10 to 14 years had the highest injury rate for fireworks-related injuries.
- Persons who are actively participating in fireworks-related activities are more frequently injured, and sustain more severe injuries, than bystanders.
When do these injuries happen?
Injuries occur on and around holidays associated with fireworks celebrations, especially July 4th and New Year's Eve.
What kinds of injuries occur?
Between June 18 and July 18:
- Fireworks-related injuries most frequently involved hands and fingers (31%), eyes (25%), and the head and face (20%).
- More than half of the injuries were burns.
- Burns were the most common injury to all body parts except the eyes.
- In the eyes, contusions, lacerations and foreign bodies occurred more frequently.
- Fireworks can be associated with serious injuries such as blindness, third degree burns, and permanent scarring.
Fireworks also cause life-threatening residential and motor vehicle fires.
What types of fireworks are associated with the most injuries?
Between June 18 and July 18:
1. Firecrackers (26%), sparklers (17%), and rockets (17%) accounted for most of the injuries seen in emergency departments.
2. Sparklers were associated with more than half of the estimated injuries for children under five.
3. Between 2000-2006, more than one third of the fireworks-related deaths involved professional devices that were illegally sold to consumers.
How and why do these injuries occur?
Availability:
- In spite of federal regulations and varying state prohibitions, many types of fireworks are often accessible by the public.
- It is not uncommon to find fireworks distributors near state borders, where residents of states with strict fireworks regulations can take advantage of more lenient state laws.
Fireworks type:
- Among the various types of fireworks, some of which are sold legally in some states, bottle rockets can fly into one’s face and cause eye injuries.
- Sparklers can ignite one’s clothing (sparklers burn at more than 1,000oF).
- Firecrackers can injure one’s hands or face if they explode at close range.
Being too close:
Injuries may result from being too close to fireworks when they explode; for example, when someone bends over to look more closely at a firework that has been ignited, or when a misguided bottle rocket hits a nearby person.
Lack of physical coordination:
Younger children often lack the physical coordination to handle fireworks safely.
Curiosity:
Children are often excited and curious around fireworks, which can increase their chances of being injured (for example, when they re-examine a firecracker dud that initially fails to ignite).
Experimentation:
Homemade fireworks (for example, ones made of the powder from several firecrackers) can lead to dangerous explosions.
How much do these injuries cost each year?
An estimated 2,200 reported structure or vehicle fires were started by fireworks in a one year study. These fires resulted in $21 million in direct property damage.
What effect do laws have on fireworks injuries?
Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission prohibits the sale of the most dangerous types of fireworks and the components intended to make them. The banned fireworks include various large aerial devices, M-80s, quarter-sticks, half-sticks and other large firecrackers. Any firecracker with more than 50 milligrams of explosive powder and any aerial firework with more than 130 milligrams of flash powder is banned under federal law, as are mail order kits and components designed to build these fireworks.
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