According to new data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, firework-related deaths and injuries are on the rise, and officials are urging everyone to be safe as the July 4th holiday approaches.
"You don’t want to spend the 4th of July in the emergency room either you being treated or your kids being treated,” said Patty Davis, spokesperson for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
According to new data released by the CPSC, firework-related deaths and injuries rose by 50 percent last year compared to 2019, including 18 deaths and over 15,000 nationwide visits to the ER. One reason for the uptick in accidents is the pandemic; officials say, after the cancellation of public firework displays across the country, many put on their own without the proper knowledge of how to do so safely.
And the CPSC says, it’s not the big ones causing all the damage. Rather, it’s firecrackers and presumably those innocent sparklers which often result in injuries to children.
“You never want to give a sparkler to a young child," Davis said. "Sparklers burn at two-thousand degrees. That is as hot as a blow torch, and you would never give a child a blowtorch.”
As the holiday weekend approaches, officials say injuries can be prevented by lighting them cautiously one at a time, keeping a bucket of water or hose nearby, and never using them while impaired by drugs or alcohol.
Or just leave the fireworks to the professionals.