"They are dangerous," says Jennifer Walker, an Injury Prevention Specialist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. "The Consumer Product Safety Commission saw an increase in injuries and deaths last year as a result of fireworks." In 2013, there were eight deaths and 11,400 reported injuries caused by fireworks and 65 percent of those injuries occurred in the 30 days around the Fourth of July.
Walker suggests making sure parents are present to supervise fireworks, even the seemingly least dangerous. Some sparklers burn at high enough temperatures to melt glass and metal and children's arms aren't long enough to keep them away from their eyes and face. Bottle rockets and sparklers accounted for forty percent of injuries last year.
"It's best to be left to the professionals," Walker says of fireworks. "Go enjoy a show but do it at the park. Not at home."
Sound bites from Jennifer Walker, Injury Prevention Specialist at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, related b-roll, and natural sound are available for download on http://news.uhhospitals.org/.
RSS