FACTS
- About two-thirds of the 11,000 to 13,000 fireworks-related injuries reported each year happen around the July Fourth holiday — between mid-June to mid-July.
- Children under 15 years of age experienced about 36 percent of the injuries, and males of all ages were involved in 70 percent.
- Burns to fingers, hands and arms are the most common injury.
- Public displays of fireworks are involved in less than one percent of injuries.
- Experts say that consumer fireworks use and sales could hit an all-time high this year.
- In 2017, Sparklers accounted for 14 percent of the estimated injuries; reloadable shells were involved in 12 percent of the estimated injuries; and firecrackers were associated with 10 percent. Bottle rockets and homemade/altered devices were involved in three percent of the injuries each.
STATS
- More than 9,000 people were treated for fireworks-related injuries last year, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- Nearly 62 percent of those injuries happened during a one-month study period between June 22, 2018 and July 22, 2018.
- Firecrakers were involved in most of injuries. About 1,000 injuries wee from firecrackers, 500 from sparklers 400 from Roman candles and 200 from bottle rockets.
- Mostly men were the ones getting injured. Of the number of reported injuries in 2018, 64 percent were to men, whil 36 percent were to women.
- Young people were commonly treated. Nearly half of the estimated treated fireworks-related injuries were to people younger than 20 years old. Kids under age of 15 made up 36 percent of the estimated injuries.
- Body parts most injured were hands and fingers: hands and fingers in 2018 were an estimated 28 percent of injuries treated, while arms were about 4 percent. Legs were 24 percent, eyes 19 percent and head, face and ear injuries made up 15 percent.