WASHINGTON — In the month around the Independence Day holiday, 240 people a day on average end up in emergency rooms because of fireworks, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports.
Many injuries are to hands and fingers.
“But there are deaths involved,” says U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Elliot Kaye who notes that for victims’ families, the holiday is “a very, very painful day as opposed to the celebratory day it should be.”
Even something as seemingly benign as sparklers can be dangerous.
CPSC says that a 19-year-old woman died from smoke inhalation in a house fire caused by a thrown sparkler last year and an estimated 1,400 emergency room visits in 2014 were related to sparklers.
Sparklers burn at more than 2,000 degrees, Kaye says.
“It’s the same temperature as a blow torch. If you’re not going to give your child a blow torch to run around with, why would you give them a sparkler?” Kaye inquires.
Fireworks vendors you might see roadside in some areas are all licensed and sell consumer fireworks that have instructions for use and cautionary or warning statements.
“You don’t want to purchase anything that is in a brown paper wrap and does not have a label,” says Executive Director of the American Pyrotechnics Association Julie L. Heckman.
“If it’s just in a brown paper wrap it’s probably an illegal explosive or a professional product that should only be used by licensed technicians,” Heckman adds.
Best practices for safe use of legal fireworks include:
- Use on a flat stable surface.
- Do not attempt to reignite “duds.”
- Have nearby a container of water or water hose.
- Douse used fireworks before disposal into trash.
“Make certain you have a sober, responsible adult in charge of all firework activities,” Heckman says.
Fireworks are illegal in numbers of area jurisdictions. Below is a look at the laws in some local counties.
Montgomery County
All fireworks are illegal. Items such as party poppers, snakes, and snap-and-pop noise makers are not officially classified as ‘fireworks’ and are OK.
All fireworks are illegal.
Fairfax County, Clifton, Herdon, Vienna and Arlington County
Illegal fireworks include those that explode, move or perform as a projectile, or emit a flame or sparks to a distance greater than 16.4 feet.
Permissible items include sparklers, noisemakers and smoke balls.
All fireworks are illegal including sparklers.
Illegal fireworks include projectile type fireworks, and those that explode or emit sparks or flames farther than 12 feet.
Allowable fireworks include the same list as in Fairfax County that include sparklers, noisemakers and smoke balls.
Illegal fireworks include those that explode, emit flames or sparks farther than 12 feet, rise into the air or travel laterally or perform as a projectile.
The list of permissible fireworks include: Sparklers, fountains, Pharaoh’s serpents, caps for pistols and pinwheels known as whirligigs.
