Most firework injuries occur near Independence Day celebrations
By Jared A. Taylor
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
WASHINGTON - Car alarms wailed and mannequin parts flew across a muddy National Mall on Tuesday as experts demonstrated the sometimes deadly effects of fireworks. The Consumer Product Safety Commission was demonstrating how both illegal and legal consumer fireworks can cause injuries or even death.
Hal Stratton, CPSC chairman, said there were 36 reports of fireworks-related deaths between 2000 and 2005. He said many such deaths go unreported. More than a third of the deaths involved professional fireworks sold illegally.
“Commercial fireworks are much more powerful and often ignite faster than you can imagine,” Stratton said. “They are illegal in the hands of consumers and should only be used by licensed professionals.”
Most consumer fireworks – including bottle rockets and firecrackers – are legal in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
In Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Ohio and Vermont, only sparklers and novelty fireworks, such as poppers or snakes, are legal for consumers. Only novelty fireworks are legal in Arizona, and all fireworks are illegal for consumers in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
The CPSC estimates there were 10,800 fireworks injuries requiring emergency room treatment in 2005. Approximately 6,500 occurred between June 18 and July 18, 2005.
Lou Raden, assistant director for enforcement programs with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said, “there are a lot of illegal manufacturers out there,” whose primary concern is making money, not safety.
“Those who are operating outside of the law, they don’t care if your holiday ends in the emergency room, they don’t care if you go blind or are maimed while using their products,” he said. “They don’t even care if you lose your life while using them.”
Among the firework-related injuries reported in 2005, more than twice as many males were injured than females, according to the CPSC. More than half of those injured were under age 20.
Bottle rockets and sparklers each resulted in an estimated 1,100 injuries.
Hands were the most often injured part of the body, with an estimated 2,000 injuries, followed by nearly 1,600 injuries to the eyes and approximately 1,300 injuries to the head, face and ears.
Raden said that legal consumer fireworks are marked with brightly colored paper with a trade name and manufacturing information. Illegal fireworks look different.
“They don’t have identifying marks on them,” Raden said. “They often contain many times the legal limit of explosives allowed by law and because they don’t meet the safety nor the quality standards. …. They are highly unstable, because heat or shock or pressure can trigger accidental explosion.”
Peter Keisler, assistant attorney general with the Civil Division at the Department of Justice, said government officials have shut down several suppliers of illegal firework components. He said that Pyrotek, a supplier in Pennsylvania, illegally sold professional-grade explosive chemicals to a 52-year-old Iowa man and others.
“The man’s improper handling of the chemicals caused a huge explosion that tragically killed him and blew out the windows from the first floor of his house,” he said. “His children were home at the time – fortunately, they weren’t injured.”
As a result of the illegal sales, Pyrotek’s owner, John Rasmus, pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal contempt for the sale and was sentenced to five months in prison, five months in home confinement and three years of supervised release, Keisler said.
Iowa Pyro, owned by Mark and Geraldine Mead of Stanwood, Iowa, illegally sold fireworks components to a customer in Illinois. Keisler said the owners were given a year of probation, fined $10,000 and the operation was shut down.
