Safety encouraged for July Fourth fireworks
As Nichole Harvey bandages burn wounds after the Fourth of July, she often thinks about what went wrong.
Patients talk about the fireworks accident that landed them in the Paul Silverstein Burn Center at Integris Baptist Medical Center while Harvey, a registered nurse and team manager, tends to the painful aftermath.
Oklahomans come to the burn center every year around July 4, Harvey said, seeking treatment for preventable injuries.
“A lot of them are just from being unsafe,” she said. “Kids going back,
lighting that firework that didn’t go off, having multiple fireworks going off at the same time and not realizing where everyone is.”
Fireworks burns are typically on the hands, head or face.
From 2010 to 2014, Oklahoma hospitals discharged 45 inpatients after treatment for fireworks-related injuries, according to Oklahoma State Department of Health data.
That number is likely the “tip of the iceberg,” said Avy Redus, state health department Injury Prevention Service project coordinator. The department does not have a system to collect and include data from emergency room or urgent care visits, Redus said.
Nationally, emergency rooms treated an estimated 11,900 people for fireworks-related injuries in 2015, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2015 Fireworks Report. The commission found reports of at least 11 deaths from firework accidents that year.
Harvey said direct contact with a flame or spark is not always necessary to cause harm.
Someone who is too close to an exploding firework can suffer a flash burn from the sudden heat, she said. Others receive contact burns after touching or being hit by a firework. Recovery from the burns can take weeks or months, depending on the severity.
“You have these bulky dressings on or a lot of ointment, so it can be debilitating for a period of time,” Harvey said. “You can’t have your right hand or your left hand, (be) your strong one for the whole summer.”
Safety tips
To prevent accidents, local entities offer safety tips for the holiday weekend, including advice on recreational firework use.
The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to attend a public display. Trained professionals put on public displays and know how to safely discharge fireworks, said Carl Hickman, chief of the Mustang Fire Department.
However, some cities, including Mustang, permit the use of fireworks within the city limits.
Hickman said those who choose to do so should take precautions, such as always having adult supervision, preparing a bucket of water or an extinguisher for a potential fire and keeping a telephone handy to call 9-1-1 in case of emergency.
Sparklers burn up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Integris physicians recommend that no child under 12 handle sparklers, and that those of appropriate age have adult supervision.
Relighting a dud firework or combining multiple fireworks to set off at once could cause accidents as well, according to Integris. Wearing eye protection and keeping a safe distance from lighted fireworks can prevent injuries to the eyes or extremities.
After discharging fireworks, residents can prevent fires by picking up the leftover trash and wetting it down before throwing it away, Hickman said. He also recommended covering unused fireworks with water before disposal.
“There’s always an inherent risk to discharging fireworks,” Hickman said. “It involves fire, it involves gunpowder, so there’s always that risk.”