By Selina R. Vert
Bay Mills News Editor
Bay Mills Director of Emergency Medical Services Ruth Summerville reminds parents to use caution when setting off home fireworks displays this 4th of July holiday. She recommends that parents not allow kids to light fireworks, themselves, and to ensure that children are properly supervised at all times when near areas where fireworks are lit.
If parents choose to allow their children to partake in fireworks, she recommends sparklers, under the proper supervision of a responsible adult.
Approximately 9,300 people were treated for fireworks-related injuries in hospitals across the United States in 2003, about 73 percent of which occurred during the month surrounding the 4th of July holiday, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's 2003 Fireworks Annual Report, published July 2004. Of these injuries 45 percent happened to children up to 14 years of age - 23 percent to children under the age of five.
"Anything that flies in the air, adults should light, themselves, and keep kids away," Summerville cautions.
Because kids don't have the same reaction times as adults, they often don't throw the firework or step back quickly enough to avoid injury, Summerville said. This leads to hand and facial burns, the most common type of fireworks-related injury. Hand injuries can lead to scarring and loss of fingers or impaired motor function, while facial injuries can cause airway problems and devastating scarring.
If hand or facial burns occur, parents should call 911 immediately.
Bay Mills Township Fire and Rescue Department Sergeant Ray Baker echoes Summerville's caution.
"Fireworks aren't toys," he said, adding that children should be under adult supervision at all times when around fireworks.
Fireworks should be set off in a wide open area, Baker said. Wooded areas or places with tall grass are susceptible to dangerous brush fires if fireworks fly astray. The fireman recommended having a garden hose or fire extinguisher readily-available in case of an emergency.
To protect consumers from fireworks-related injuries, the National Council of Fireworks Safety offers the following safety tips:
- Always read and follow label directions.
- Have an adult present.
- Buy from reliable sellers.
- Use outdoors only.
- Always have water handy (a garden hose and a bucket).
- Never experiment or make your own fireworks.
- Light only one firework at a time.
- Never re-light a "dud" firework (wait 15 to 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water).
- Never give fireworks to small children.
- If necessary, store fireworks in a cool, dry place.
- Dispose of fireworks properly by soaking them in water and then disposing of them in a trash can.
- Never throw or point fireworks at other people.
- Never carry fireworks in your pocket.
- Never shoot fireworks in metal or glass containers.
- The shooter should always wear eye protection and never have any part of the body over the firework.
The National Council on Fireworks Safety also recommends that consumers stay away from illegal explosives.
"It is extremely important to know the difference between a legal consumer firework and a dangerous explosive device," the council wrote on their website. "Items such as M-80s, M-100s and blockbusters are not fireworks, they are federally-banned explosives."
Data from the American Pyrotechnics Association web site determines that 32 percent of all fireworks-related injuries are due to firecrackers, 42 percent of which are illegal.
Fireworks complying with strict regulations enacted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1976 function primarily by burning to produce motion and visible or audible effects. These legal fireworks are clearly labeled with the name of the item, the manufacturer's name and instructions for proper use. Illegal fireworks do not contain the manufacturer's name and are usually totally unlabeled, according to the National Council on Fireworks Safety web site.
Those with questions on the legality of fireworks in their area should contact the local fire marshall.
