Why all shops should ban the sale of fireworks
As Sainsbury’s outlaws the sale of fireworks in all their stores, Closer investigates the dangers of Bonfire Night...
Ellie Mason was excited to take her young family to a friend’s house to watch a back garden fireworks display.
But excitement turned to terror when Ellie’s daughter Rosie-May, then four, was hit in the neck by a stray rocket, setting her clothes on fire. The little girl spent five weeks in hospital and endured a painful skin graft to treat her burns.
Now, mum-of-two Ellie is supporting Sainsbury’s, who this month announced that they will no longer be selling fireworks at any of their 2,300 stores nationwide.
SEVERE BURNS
Ellie, 30, from South Wales, says, “Rosie-May suffered severe burns and she’s scarred for life. She’s taken it all in her stride, but I would hate for this to happen to anyone else – which is why we want to encourage people to enjoy fireworks, but only at publiclyorganised events run by professionals. People don’t often think about the fact that, when they’re buying fireworks, they’re buying powerful explosives.”
Shockingly, in 2017, almost 4,500 people in England attended A&E with injuries from fireworks – and children are more likely to be injured than adults, with the most common injuries to the hands, eyes and face. But it’s not just the risk of accidents that makes fireworks so dangerous.
Over 750,000 people have signed various online petitions calling on the government to implement stricter firework regulations, highlighting the impact the celebrations can have on animals, the elderly, and veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
There is also concern over the heightened risk of anti-social behaviour associated with the explosives. In November 2017, a 56-year-old man died after a large rocket was lit and pushed through his door. The commercial firework caused his semi-detached house in
Birmingham to go up in flames. He suffered severe burns and, after being placed in an induced coma, later died in hospital.
Marion Fellows, MP for Motherwell and Wishaw in Scotland, has written to the CEOs of major supermarkets, urging them to follow Sainsbury’s lead. She said, “There must be tighter controls on the sale of fireworks. If the UK Government won’t act, then retailers who sell fireworks must take a portion of the responsibility for the harm fireworks are causing to physical and mental well-being of people and animals and stop selling them.”
For Ellie, Bonfire Night will always be tainted with bad memories. She remembers,
“In November 2017, we went to a friend’s house where we were putting on a small firework display together. My husband, James, lit a firework but it must have shot the wrong way. I remember seeing a flash of light shoot past me, and fly towards Rosie-May. She didn’t scream, but when I looked at her, her coat was on fire.”
Terrified, Ellie leapt into action. She says, “I’d done a first aid course a few weeks earlier, so I started patting down the flames to put them out, while my friend called 999. The paramedics told us to put her in a cold bath. Her skin was already starting to go red and blister – it was horrible.”
Rosie-May was rushed to hospital, where medics set about cleaning her wounds. Ellie says, “They had to pop some of the blisters and bandage her wounds. The doctors told me she’d suffered full-thickness burns, meaning all layers of the skin had been destroyed, right down to the layer of fat beneath the skin.”
TRAUMA
Ten days later, when doctors were able to see the full extent of Rosie-May’s burns, she underwent a skin graft.
Ellie recollects, “Her head was shaved and they took the skin from her scalp. She was so brave and didn’t cry at all. Seeing her after the surgery, all bandaged up without any hair, was heartbreaking.”
Rosie-May spent five weeks in hospital. Her wounds were cleaned daily, and she was given counselling to help her deal with the trauma of the accident. Ellie says, “Rosie-May has scarring on her neck. We apply creams to them every day, but she’ll have them for the rest of her life.”
Last Bonfire Night – the first after her accident – Ellie and her family stayed at home. She says, “In the days leading up to Bonfire Night, Rosie-May was very anxious. So, on 5 November, we watched a film with the volume turned up high, and she went to bed wearing ear defenders. We’ll do the same this year.
“Her accident will be something that stays with her forever, but she’s been so brave. This year, on National Burns Awareness Day, she even gave a talk to the other children in her class about what she’d been through.
“If fireworks were only set off at public events, everyone in the local area would know exactly when they were going to take place – meaning vulnerable people and pet owners could prepare.
“We thought we were being safe, but accidents still happen. The risk just isn’t worth it.”
By Kristina Beanland
I SAW A FLASH OF LIGHT SHOOT PAST ME - ROSIE’S
COAT WAS ON FIRE