When you think of July 4th, it’s hard not to imagine bursting fireworks and the smell of barbecue. Fireworks are one of the most exciting things about July 4th, but you have to be careful not to have an accident that will ruin you Independence Day celebration.
After all, fireworks are made of explosives, which means that if handled incorrectly, they can lead to catastrophe.
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While they may be fun, fireworks can be extremely dangerous, not to mention illegal, if not used properly. At times, they have been known to be unpredictable, causing serious injuries to those handling them.
Scroll down for a list of some of the worst accidents that have been caused by fireworks on the Fourth of July in recent years.
Minor Injuries
While not everything available at your closest fireworks stand is potentially life-threatening, even the smallest ones can still be potentially harmful if not handled with care.
For example, many parents are comfortable with their children playing with sparklers, but even those can cause burns if children are not properly supervised while they play with them.
You should also be sure not to let them pick up any fireworks off the ground as well. In 2017, an incident was reported where two boys did just that and one had their hand seriously injured while the other was hit with debris, as reported by Newsweek.
Make sure to keep watch on your kids while they play this Independence Day, so that you can be sure to intervene if they unintentionally find themselves at risk for being harmed.
House Fire
House fires are also a real threat during fireworks season, if people are not cautiousย about where they set them off.
In 2017, police and fire department officialsย investigated a fire that started in a residentialย building, eventually determiningย that it started on a balcony.
Police eventually surmised that the fire began after residents beganย setting off illegal fireworks on the balcony.
Luckily, no one was seriously injured.
Severe Burns
Severe burns are maybe the most common injury that arises from mishandling fireworks.
A North Carolina man found himself being treated for third-degree burns last year after an accident involving fireworks. There are numerousย stories just like that every year, so be sure to maintain caution this year when you light those fireworks.
Hospitalization
Occasionally, someone mayย escape an injuryย which only requires minor medical involvement, but many times they are forced to be hospitalized.
One Iowa mother and her baby were admitted to the hospital one year after a fireworksย shot off sideways and hit them. Additionally, in 2017 a one-year-old child was hospitalized after suffering “serious to critical injuries” that were attributed to fireworks.
Wildfire
If you live near a woodland area, you should be especially cautiousย about setting of fireworks, as they have beenย known to contribute to wildfires.
A fireworks display in Parker, Arizona caused a wildfire to spark in 2017. Luckily, the local fire department was able to contain it before anyone was injured.
Maiming
One of the most horrible injuriesย that can be sustained from a firework injury is maiming your self or losing an appendage.
A North Dakotaย man maimed both of his hands in 2017 after picking up and lighting a firework that he found in bar paring lot.
“I along with several other guests stepped outside assuming it maybe had been a bad car wreck or something,” a witness told reporters at the time. “When we stepped out, there was a guy walking up to us on the sidewalk clutching what was left of his hands in his shirt and covered in blood.”
That same year, two men in Auburn, Alabama mangledย their hands in separateย incidents involvingย fireworks.
Car Fire
It is also important to be cautious when transporting fireworks, as there have been reports of car fires partiallyย attributed to them in the past.
In one instance, an SUV in New York was set aflame after an electricalย malfunction set off sparks that ignited fireworks in the trunk of the car. That incident reportedly caused injury to at least five people, as reported by Patch.
A separateย but similar situation saw firefightersย being met with explodingย fireworks as they approached a car that was on fire.
Death
Sadly, in the worst cases, some have ended up losing their lives after terribleย fireworks-related accidents.
A Chicago, Illinois man was killed last year after he bent over a firework that was supposed to launch into the air, but instead hit him in the head.
He was taken to a nearby hospital but was ultimately pronounced dead.
Not far away, in the state of Kentucky, another man died from a similar situation after he bent over a firework launcher and was hit in the chest.
“The firework hit him hard enough to stop his heart,” the deputy coronerย told reportersย at the time. “The preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma.”
If you are planning a big fireworks show in your neighborhood for the Fourth of July, make sure to be as safe and cautious as possible, and consider consulting with your local fire department beforehand.
