BROWARD COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

 

  HOT TOPICS

 

The Facts on Fireworks

 

How frequent are fireworks injuries?  Each year in the United States, emergency room staff treat more than 12,000 persons for severe injuries related to the malfunction or careless use of fireworks.  Seven of every 100 of these injuries require hospitalization. Over 40% of those injured are children under 15 years of age.

 

What types of injuries do fireworks cause? The parts of the body most frequently injured when fireworks are involved are the hands and fingers (38%) and eyes (19%). About 50% of all fireworks-related injuries involve burns. Eye injuries are often severe and may cause permanently reduced vision or blindness.  Bottle rockets have been associated with as many as 83% of serious eye injuries from fireworks.  These injuries include optic nerve damage, legal blindness and surgical removal of the eye. 

 

Text Box: TIPS FOR PREVENTING FIREWORKS INJURIES Fireworks can be fun and beautiful, but they are also dangerous. The best way to enjoy fireworks is to watch a display done by the professionals. If you do take the risk of putting on your own show, here are some safety tips: · Keep a pail of water nearby and follow basic fire safety measures · Only adults should handle and ignite the devices; supervise children closely · Never put fireworks devices in bottle or cans · Follow written directions and warning labels closely · Never re-light any device that is malfunctioning or has sputtered out · Each person should light only one device at a time (including sparklers) · Never throw or aim sparklers or any fireworks at another person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


How do these injuries occur? Injuries related to fireworks result from a number of factors including easy availability of fireworks; unsupervised use; lack of physical coordination or maturity; the type or quality of fireworks device; experimentation; and user or observer proximity to the fireworks device.  Factors leading to eye injury have included device malfunction, intentional aiming of fireworks at others, and throwing the device after it has been lit but before ignition.  The three types of fireworks that keep hospital emergency rooms busy during the holiday season are bottle rockets, firecrackers and sparklers.  Bottle rockets and firecrackers are miniature explosives and they can fly and blow up in any direction.  Sparklers burn at extremely hot temperatures. Allowing young children to handle fireworks could have devastating results.

 

 

For more information, contact the Broward County Health Department at 954/467-4790.

 

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