WASHINGTON — A teen boy was severely injured while handling fireworks on the Fourth of July in District Heights, Maryland.
The boy suffered hand injuries when the fireworks exploded, Prince George’s County fire officials said.
The fire marshal’s office is investigating but no charges have been filed, officials said.
All consumer fireworks are illegal in Prince George’s County including fireworks commonly allowed in other communities like sparklers and bottle rockets. Penalties for violating the county’s longstanding fireworks ban include fines up to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail.
“Our primary concern is for the health of this young man and his hand injuries,” Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale said in a statement. “However, we cannot look the other way when a law designed to prevent this type of life-changing injury is violated.”
Emergency crews were called to a home in the 1800 block of Addison Road about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday for a report of the teen’s injuries.
It was unclear what kind of fireworks were involved. Fire officials did not say whether the boy lived at the address.
Two other people have suffered similar injuries in the county in the past nine years, fire officials said.
In 2015, a woman injured three fingers when a firework exploded in her hand just days before the Independence Day holiday.
