Nicaragua
Explosion in stands injures 16
Man lost both of his hands

2004 -- Two children were among 16 people injured in a fireworks explosion during celebrations for Real Esteli's national soccer championship, officials said on Monday.

Police said Reynaldo Galeano Sanchez, 25, lost both of his hands when about two kilograms (four pounds) of powder or fireworks he was handling went off in the stands as spectators celebrated Sunday's home team victory in Esteli, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the capital Managua.

Gilma Juarez, chief of the emergency section at the hospital in Esteli, said on Monday two children were among the 16 injured.

On March 7 at a soccer match in El Salvador, a man died and 27 others were injured during an explosion of fireworks at a stadium, leading officials there to ban explosives at stadiums.

 

Safe and sane can still be fatal

Hunter Cannon was kicking back in a lawn chair, watching his neighborhood block party wind down, when some 18- year-old kid lit a small firework and stuffed it down his T-shirt.

The little ball flashed and crackled near Hunter's ear. Singed his blond hair. Scorched his back.

Hunter, then 10, ran screaming down his Santa Ana, Calif., street. A stream of smoke trailed behind him.

"Hunter's on fire!" family friend Mindy Smith yelled.

Similar scenes could play out across the nation in coming days as the Fourth of July approaches and "safe and sane" fireworks go on sale. Though many fireworks that explode or leave the ground - including cherry bombs, M80s, and firecrackers - are illegal in California and other states.

For Hunter, the first three days at UCI Regional Burn Center were the most painful of his life, he says. The top of his back was charred. Blisters left a trail to his waist. Doctors scraped away the dead skin and gave him morphine for the pain.

That was two years ago. Now Hunter's butterfly-shaped scar is barely visible.

His injuries "could have been significantly worse," burn center director Dr. Marianne Cinat said. "Had his shirt caught on fire, that could have been a very severe, life- threatening burn."

Others aren't so lucky.

Cinat has seen kids who lost fingers while holding fireworks. Some are burned in fires ignited by sparks. She even saw a 70-year-old woman who nearly died when a sparkler ignited her polyester dress. Half her body was covered in third- degree burns.

The burn center treats about 12 fireworks victims this time of year.

Cinat has never had a patient killed by fireworks, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

In 2003, at least four people were killed in the United States by fireworks and 9,300 were injured, according to a National Fire Protection Association report. About 84 percent of the injuries were caused by legal fireworks, the report says.

"The problems occur when the fireworks are misused," Santa Ana fire Capt. Ben Gonzales said. "They're labeled `safe and sane' to be used in a certain fashion. They're not designed to be picked up."

The Cannons thought they had been safe that Fourth of July - and for the 10 years they had been gathering at sundown to light fireworks at the East Avalon Avenue block party. They took precautions: ladders in the street to hold lit fireworks, water-filled buckets for throwing away smoking shells.

And they taught their kids to hold sparklers away from their bodies and stand back when the fireworks go off.

If Hunter's mom could have done anything differently that night, she says she would have talked to the teens when she noticed them horsing around - before their fun escalated to danger.

"The boys were throwing (small fireworks) in the street," Lisa Cannon said. "It's hard to tell the kids not to do it when the adults are doing it."

She doesn't think the teen meant to hurt Hunter. It was a careless prank that turned dangerous, she said. The teen apologized immediately, visited Hunter in the hospital and paid for his medical care.

The scare didn't keep the Cannons from using fireworks last Fourth of July, but they did stick with a smaller crowd.

"When you have a big group it's hard to keep an eye on everyone and everything going on," Lisa Cannon said. "And we had just as much fun last year.

"So many cities won't let you do fireworks anymore," she said. "I don't want other people to abuse the privilege, because it will be taken away from everybody."

 

Three critically injured
in fireworks-related accident

2004 -- Three people were critically injured in 'Ewa Beach yesterday when a metal pole they were setting up to hang firecrackers touched a power line, officials said.

A New Year's Eve celebrant lit fireworks on Dement Street in Kalihi during last year's celebrations. Last year there were 72 fireworks-related injuries reported.

A man in his late 30s and a teenage boy and girl were flown by helicopter to The Queen's Medical Center following the 4:30 p.m. accident at 863 Ha'eha'e Place. They suffered burns and cuts and were taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to city Emergency Medical Services. Three other teenage girls suffered scrapes.

Fire Capt. Emmit Kane said a group of people was gathered around a metal ladder when the pole touched the power line.

A year ago 72 fireworks-related injuries were reported in the state. The most common injuries were from sparklers and other fireworks "novelties," which can be purchased without a permit. Nearly two-thirds of the injuries were to children 14 or younger, said Dan Galanis, a state Health Department epidemiologist.

Fireworks may be used only from 9 p.m. New Year's Eve to 1 a.m. on New Year's Day.

It is unlawful to use aerial fireworks; remove or extract fireworks contents; throw ignited fireworks from a moving vehicle; and to set off fireworks near schools, places of worship, health-care facilities, facilities for animals and within 500 feet of a hotel, which includes all of Waikiki.

Public aerial fireworks displays will take place at midnight tonight off Waikiki and Aloha Tower.

Today in Italy
New Year's Fireworks: Nobody Killed, 586 Injured

2004 -- Nobody was killed by this year's fireworks. This is the first result reported by the interior ministry's security department. In 2002 and 2003, one person was killed, while 4 were killed in the new year's celebration of 2001. No casualties this year, but 586 injuries, 39 of which are serious (more than 40 days' hospitalisation). The ministry stressed that "the repressive actions and confiscations of the police helped reduce victims", as there were much less fireworks around compared to other years. During the police operations - stressed the interior ministry's statement - "the usual investigation techniques used to fight crime were employed", confirming the great attention given to this problem. The interior ministry communicated that the police "confiscated 427 rocket fireworks, 52 firearms, almost 1,200,000 ammo fireworks, 115 tonnes of 4th and 5th category items, and almost 485,000 single fireworks. Plus, 3.8 tonnes of gunpowder, 542 detonators, 2349 triggering caps, 100 tonnes of non-identified items. More and more people reported for possession and sale of forbidden fireworks: 668, compared to last year's 397. During the prevention actions, the police also inspected several authorised factories, depots and shops. Many illegal importers were tracked down and stopped, hence preventing lots of illegal material from being on the market. Basically, those who were used to having plenty of fireworks for new year's, had to go with less this time.

New Year's Fireworks injure man and children

Last night at 12:26 a man by the initials B.P., 40, lost his leg after the explosion of fireworks backfired on him. His two children were wounded as well: the 11 year old boy was treated for back injuries, and his 14 year old sister underwent surgery to remove debris from her leg. The explosion caused a wall of their residence to explode.

Man Severely Hurt
Fireworks Detonate Near His Face

2004 -- A Highland Township man was critically injured late Saturday after an illegal firework detonated near his face.

The man, 43, was setting off fireworks in the 7000 block of Eston Road at about 11 p.m. when the incident occurred, according to a report in The Oakland Press. He stuck his head into the launch tube when one of the fireworks did not detonate, the paper reported.

The firework exploded, causing severe facial burns and tissue damage.

He was listed in critical condition at the University of Michigan Medical Center.

Alcohol was a factor, said Capt. Douglas Molinar of the Oakland County Sheriff's Department.

The sheriff's department, Michigan State Police and Independence Township Fire Department are investigating the incident. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was also notified.

Fireworks Cause House Explosion

2004 -- Sioux City Man Mixing Fireworks When Blast Occurred

Police say fireworks are to blame for a house explosion Sioux City that landed a man in the hospital earlier this week.

The man, 30, was injured in the blast at his house on Tuesday.

Authorities say he was apparently trying to mix several smaller fireworks into one large casing when the explosion happened.

Investigator Jason Allen said officials don't think he was trying to make a bomb. It appears he was only trying to enhance the fireworks.

He remains hospitalized. His condition is not known.

Man hit in face by fireworks

2004 -- A man was seriously injured when a fire cracker hit his face during New Year's Eve celebrations.

The 24-year-old man was rushed to hospital when he suffered severe eye injuries in the accident just after midnight.

An ambulance spokeswoman said the man was celebrating at a house in Darley, near Bacchus Marsh, when the cracker struck him.

Residents of some Melbourne suburbs were plagued by illegal fireworks put on by New Year's Eve revellers.

One woman said someone could have been killed during a night of illegal fireworks mayhem in her eastern suburb.

Fireworks land in yard

2004 -- When two people went outside during the Fourth of July weekend, they discovered that three huge fireworks had landed in the yard the previous night.

The fireworks hadn't come from the display at Corydon Lake Park. They had come from an individual's private fireworks display, which is illegal in the state of Iowa.

They came to the July 8 meeting of the Corydon City Council with the remains of what was found in their yard.

One had landed on the boundary line of their yard, another landed 15 to 20 feet from their house, and a third lacked 25 feet from going out in the street.

One of those had landed straight into the ground and was embedded so far that when they pulled it out, it still had grass stuck in the empty head.

The fireworks were about an inch in diameter on long sticks that were about a quarter inch square. A couple of the sticks were burnt black.

"My concern got worse after reading the warning,"  She read the warning label to the council.

Her concern was that these could have gone through somebody's roof, window or if someone had been sitting out in the yard, they could have been injured.

She pointed out that it was a good thing the ground was wet.

 

A Canadian Headache

-- Shooting off bottle rockets Halloween night may seem like harmless fun for teenagers, but one officer who regularly works that shift is warning parents it can be extremely dangerous.

About seven years ago, during a bike patrol near the south end of Granville, a Const. came across a 12-year-old who'd fired off a bottle rocket.  The rocket came back and hit him in a pocket where he'd stored other fireworks, which ignited. The boy's whole pant leg was gone and he'd suffered serious burns when he arrived. "He was trying to cover it up but he was in complete shock," he recalls. The victim landed in hospital for a week.

Every year, teens, usually boys aged 12 to 15, fool around with fireworks or try to damage property with fire or even eggs. The annual rash of problems prompted the Const. to sign on for duty every Halloween in the hopes of curbing the reckless behaviour.

He advises parents to keep an eye on their kids, never provide them with fireworks and make sure they supervise displays rather than letting teens go off on their own.

According to the Vancouver fireworks bylaw, stores require permits to sell fireworks, and buyers must be 19 or older. Users are not allowed to direct a firework at any person, animal, building or motor vehicle if it's in the process of exploding or detonating and capable of projecting or discharging a charge or pyrotechnical effect by more than one metre.

Family fireworks, which don't include firecrackers, require a permit but can be used without one between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31, as long as it's not in a street, lane or other public place-unless it's authorized by the fire chief.  Roman candles-ground-based fireworks that work like a repeating gun by shooting out stars at regular intervals-cannot be sold except as part of a family pack.  It's boys' "fascination with the black powder, the big bang" that draws them to fireworks, says the Const.  who remembers 1999 as one of the worst years for problems. "I felt like I was in a war zone at one point," he said. In one alleyway, he spotted about five garbage cans burning, while officers had to break up a "roman candle war" in Trimble Park. Dozens of kids had lined up on either side of the field shooting them at each other. An officer was also surrounded and his patrol car's tail light kicked in at the Shell station at 10th and Discovery before help arrived. By the end of the evening, The Const. had confiscated 80 pounds worth of fireworks, lighter fluid, butane and other paraphernalia-compared to about 25 to 30 pounds last year.   The Const. said Halloween also sees vandals targeting schools, sometimes trying to light them on fire. He often drops by corner stores to warn owners not to sell eggs to teenagers, since they're sometimes thrown at people, cars or homes. "It's not bad kids; it's just kids not thinking."

Last October, he watched as teens in a car shot roman candles at girls standing less than 10 feet away, although he couldn't catch up to them, since he was on his bike. Typically, officers issue warnings to the culprits and confiscate their stashes.    But the greatest risk comes from altering fireworks to get more of an explosion.   The Sgt. who heads the RCMP's Delta-based explosive unit for the province, said his department calls any firework that's been altered an IED or Improvised Explosive Device. Teens sometimes stuff them in mail boxes or garbage cans to see how much damage they can do. But since there's no quality control on the fuses, the user doesn't know how long it will take them to burn down-it could be instantaneous or take a couple of seconds or a few minutes.

That means potential tragedies. One year, a Coquitlam boy lost his fingers, while a Parksville mom lost her son to a pipe bomb he made at school about two years ago. "It's dangerous to members and the general public," The Sgt. said. "These kids and parents don't realize how dangerous. They take fireworks, they improvise them into something they're not supposed to be and they become deadly."    The Sgts. unit disposes of confiscated fireworks collected during Halloween and throughout the rest of the year, as well as those are left over from fireworks displays, taking them to unused open-pit mines and setting off a detonation to burn them. Next month, the unit will dispose of 500 pounds of fireworks left over from this summer's fireworks competition.

Two years ago, a bomb technician in the States died while disposing of Halloween fireworks, after a premature denotation. "We lose more bomb technicians through those misfortunes than we do actually working on a live bomb-that's how dangerous it is,"  the Sgt.  said.  "We haven't lost any but I don't want that to happen in Canada."   B.C., however, is the busiest jurisdiction in Canada when it comes to IEDs.  Last year, there were about 273 IED incidents in Canada, including 112 in B.C.

CASE BRIEFS

-- A 10-year old boy was playing with gunpowder trying to make a firecracker. He used matches to light the "firecracker," and it exploded burning 4% of his body.

-- A 19-year old man was riding in a car with friends. They were lighting and throwing firecrackers out the windows when a lit firecracker fell into a pile of fireworks that were inside the car. The fireworks ignited and burned 16% of the man’s body. He spent 12 days in a burn center.

-- A 3-year old girl was standing near a firework when it malfunctioned. The firework was supposed to spin and light up like a flower. Instead, the firework went off like a chaser and flew up the girl’s shirt catching it on fire.

-- A 9-year old girl was holding a handful of sparklers while her mother tried to light them with a lighter.  The sparklers all ignited at the same time and burned the child’s hands. She spent 10 days in a burn center.

-- An 11-year old boy was lighting firecrackers; one of them did not go off. He tried to relight it and the firecracker exploded in his face. He spent 33 days in a burn center.

-- A 7-year old boy and his family were playing with fireworks when a rocket type firework wasmisdirected. It struck the boy in the head and the "butterfly" type fireworks in the tip of the rocket flew into the hood of his jacket and burned his scalp. He spent 2 days in a burn center.

-- A 12-year old boy was playing with firecrackers when one exploded near a gas can. The gas can ignited burning 10% of the boy’s body; he spent 6 days in a burn center.

Finland
Fireworks cause severe eye injuries.

2004 -- Traditional New Year's fireworks caused eye injuries to twelve people in the Helsinki region. Four of the injuries were serious, and three patients were operated on during the night between New Year's Eve and January 1st. According to Tero Kivelä, head physician of the Helsinki University eye clinic, the elevated number of injuries is related to the amount of fireworks that were set off this year. Moreover, some injuries are caused as onlookers do not have any eye protection.

Compared with previous years, the number of eye injuries caused by New Year' s fireworks increased this year. Most of those injured were onlookers, rather than the individuals setting off the rockets and other fireworks.

During the night of New Year's Eve car and snowmobile accidents as well as stabbings were reported in various parts of Finland as well, though police noted that this year's celebrations passed off relatively calmly.

This year the New Year was seen in with considerably more humane weather conditions than 12 months ago, so it had been anticipated that the number of calls to police and rescue services would have increased. There were an unconscionable number of incidents of distress rockets being set off (a typical annoyance at this time of year), and in one case near Helsinki a Coastguard helicopter and rescue vessels were sent out, only to return several hours later having found nobody in need of assistance.

A violent explosion caused by an illegal firework bomb cut about two hundred cable television connections and disturbed mobile phone connections in Kuopio on Wednesday night, according to the Finnish news agency STT.

In the Tampere region fireworks caused only one injury, whereas a fire broke out in a video shop early on New Year's morning and 30 people had to be evacuated from the building. The fire was extinguished in a couple of hours, but the smoke-filled flats had to be ventilated before the residents could return home.

 

Man faces charges in fireworks accident

-- A man was charged Wednesday with two misdemeanors after a 4th of July accident that blew off part of a woman's face.   He was expected to turn himself in to police after a warrant was issued for his arrest.   He was charged with reckless conduct and unlawful use of fireworks, both misdemeanors, punishable by up to one year in jail, police said.   The 19-year-old victim lost her left eye in the explosion, was initially in critical condition, and has undergone several surgeries, authorities said.   She was listed in fair condition at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood.  The woman was sitting with friends in lawn chairs watching fireworks in the back yard,  while the man was in a corner of the yard, apparently working with an explosive device. People sitting next to the woman heard a loud boom and immediately saw the woman collapse holding her face. They called 911, and the woman was taken to Hospital.

 

 

Pupils injured after classmate plays with explosives

-- A pupil has injured 12 of his classmates by playing with explosives at a school in eastern China.  The 13-year-old threw the detonating fuse of an old cannonball against the ceiling while playing with it.  The blast occurred at the Daxuelu Primary School in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang, after a crowd had gathered to watch the boy.   All of the injured students were taken to hospital following the explosion on the fourth floor of the school.

 

Teenager's hand blown off by firework

-- A teenager from Salford is undergoing emergency surgery after his right hand was blown off by a firework.  Police say it's thought the device exploded when the 18-year-old picked it up to light it.  Greater Manchester Police are investigating whether it was a high-powered industrial firework.   A Greater Manchester Fire Service spokesman says it's thought to be a legal device.   "We think it is a perfectly legal firework - the type of thing you can buy over the counter - which makes it even more frightening," he said.  The brigade received more than 300 calls to firework-related incidents in a 12-hour period last night, twice the number it would expect in a normal busy period.  "We would urge anyone to attend organised events, which are much safer," the spokesman added.  Last week, a 15-year-old boy needed hospital treatment to hand and chest injuries after setting off a firework at a school in Bury

 

Boy burned on his neck and face

-- A Harris county teenager has been hurt after playing around with fireworks. The accident happened Thursday morning at an apartment complex in northwest Harris county.   The accident occurred at about 11:30am. A 16-year-old boy was burned on his neck and face when the explosion happened. His shirt was set on fire.    Harris Co Fire Investigator: "What is appears that we've got is a firework that at the time it was sold was a legal firework, and a proper firework, that because of the way that some juveniles were using it... They changed the intent of the firework, and basically built or found a homemade launcher, and were using that to fire something similar to a mortar shell."   The firework blew a PVC pipe to bits, throwing shrapnel as far as 80 feet away.

 

Fireworks accidents hurt 7, boy critically

-- Fireworks accidents injured at least seven people in the Seattle area yesterday, including three boys who were hospitalized.     A 13-year-old Snohomish County boy, was in critical condition last night at Harborview Medical Center. The boy was at a party in rural Snohomish County Saturday night when he held and attempted to light an aerial firework. It exploded, striking and burning his face and head,    He was flown to Harborview, where he underwent surgery. "We don't know if he's going to live," the mother said. "We're not sure."     A Vancouver,      Also over the weekend, said a Harborview nursing supervisor, one boy was hospitalized with leg burns and another boy with arm burns. Three other people were treated for injuries and released.     In Martha Lake, a 17-year-old boy lost the tips of his fingers after a lighted M-80 firecracker exploded in his hands Saturday, fire Capt. said.     He said the victim, who was treated at Stevens Memorial Hospital, apparently had been talking on the telephone while holding the lighted firecracker.     Other incidents marred the Fourth of July.     In Bothell, firefighters put out fires in two garbage bins at Skyview Junior High School. It was not known if the fires, suspected to be deliberately set, involved fireworks.     In Milwaukie, Ore., authorities blamed fireworks for an early morning fire that raced through a home yesterday. Nineteen firefighters battled the blaze, which started outside near the front porch and quickly spread through the entire home.

 

 

MAN LOSES THREE FINGERS IN FIREWORKS ACCIDENT

A 27-year-old Clifton man was in good condition Tuesday after  blowing off three fingers in a July Fourth fireworks accident.     The accident occurred when the man lit what  police believe was an M-80 explosive in the Parker Avenue home of  a friend Monday at midnight, destroying three fingers on his right hand.    The man was in good condition at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical  Center in Paterson, a hospital spokesman said.     Treated and released from the hospital was his friend,
a 23-year-old man.   Police said he suffered an ear injury.

 

 

TEEN INJURED BY ROCKET
MAY LOSE SIGHT IN ONE EYE

Emergency workers are bracing for the usual round of fireworks injuries this week, and maybe more than the usual number of associated fires since the weather has been so dry.   "We'll keep ourselves on alert and do the best we can," said  the University City fire marshal. "But someone's going to get hurt no matter what we say or do."     Already there has been one serious injury in the region: a 13-year- old girl in St. Francois County, who may lose the sight of one eye after it was struck by a flaming bottle rocket.    The girl was lighting fireworks with neighborhood kids late Friday afternoon when a rocket hit her in the face.   "I panicked and started screaming," she said in a phone interview from her home. "It didn't really hurt, but I kept screaming because I knew it was bad."   Her 15-year-old brother, scooped her up and carried her home. Surgeons at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis tried to repair her eye Saturday. But the family can only wait to find out if she will regain her sight.    "She can already see light," her mother said Wednesday. "That's a miracle in itself."    The girl said she wants to warn children about the dangers of fireworks.      "Fireworks are not toys, you shouldn't just play with them," she said.

Firecrackers are blamed for causing the most injuries to children under the age of 15 years. Bottle rockets and sparklers also hurt many, fire officials say.
"We teach our kids 364 days a year not to play with matches, then one day a year we show them how much fun it is," lamented spokesman for the Illinois state fire marshal's office.

 

 

-- A boy, 9, of Lyall Bay, is in Hutt Hospital's burns unit after a firework lodged in his rollerblade boot.

-- A 15-year-old Raumati boy suffered deep burns to his face after he checked to see why a firework had not gone off.

 

 

A frightening accident for a little boy.

-- The ten-year-old suffered serious hand and eye injuries after an M80 firecracker exploded in his hand.  Cops say the youngster picked up the device in a house.   What he did not know, was how long the fuse burned before the device exploded.

The boy is in critical but stable condition at Bellevue Hospital.  His uncle has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

You could see the bones and tendons

-- A schoolboy nearly lost his hand following an accident with a banned firework last year.

The 14-year-old suffered serious burns after the cracker blew up as he held it. The explosion ripped open his hand and blasted off the tips of his thumb and two fingers.

"We were very shocked when we saw him.  His hand was unrecognisable, it was like looking at a plate of raw meat, you could see the bones and tendons".

The two and a half hour operation dragged on for five and a half hours.   "That's when I started to worry that they were amputating his hand,"  says the company director.

Fortunately that was not the case and the three surgeons managed to save his hand using delicate microsurgery.

 

Firework incidents over the weekend
sent three people to hospital

-- A 24 year old man  had four fingers of his right hand blown off by an M80 firework at his home.   Police said he  was playing with the firework at around 10:30 p.m. when it accidentally discharged. He  was taken to Hospital and is listed in stable condition.

Police also reported two subway related fireworks incidents Sunday. In one a woman was attacked in front of the token booth with an M80 firework at the subway station in Brooklyn at 10:30 p.m. She is in stable condition at Brookdale Hospital where she was treated for burns to her arm. Police said they arrested two youths, ages 12 and 13, and charged them with reckless endangerment and assault.

 

Girl's Hand Damaged By Firecracker

-- A 12-year-old girl lost most of three fingers when a powerful firecracker she found exploded at her family's home police said.   The girl and her family were cleaning out their new home around 8:30 p.m. when the girl discovered two M-80 firecrackers in the kitchen.   Police are trying to determine how the M-80s, which are banned in the United States, ended up in the kitchen. The family had just recently moved to the house.

Her parents were clearing out the basement when they heard an explosion on the first floor. When they rushed upstairs, they discovered the girl clutching her bleeding hand.

It is extremely unlikely that the firecracker could have gone off by itself, said a spokesman with the Fire Department. He said the firecracker's fuse might have been lit before the girl picked it up.  Doctors were unable to reattach her fingers.

Although doctors were reconstructing the wound to give some viability to her hand, it was not clear how well the girl would be able to use it.

 

Girl injured by Fireworks

-- The father of a 3-year-old girl injured yesterday after a firecracker blew up in her hand in Brooklyn was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.   He was arrested after the little girl accidentally lit an M-80 firecracker that he brought over during a visit earlier yesterday, police said. The child, whose name was withheld, was taken to Bellevue Hospital with a severed thumb and was in satisfactory condition after surgery last night.   Police said the little girl found the bag of fireworks and a cigarette lighter on her mother's dresser.  The girl's mother was in another room at the time of the accident. The force of the explosion severed the girl's thumb and sent fragments into her face and stomach, police said. Three fingers on her right hand were also torn off. An M-80 is the equivalent of a quarter stick of dynamite.

 

Boy Loses 3 Fingers Lighting Firecracker

-- A 5-year-old boy who was visiting his uncle's apartment in the Bronx on Friday night lost three fingers when an M-80 firecracker exploded in his hand, the police said.  A police spokeswoman,  said the boy, who was not identified, found the firecracker in the bedroom of his uncle, took it to the stove and lit it.

 

Man, 19, loses hand in fireworks accident

-- A man was in fair condition Saturday at University Hospital, recovering from a July 4th fireworks injury that caused him to lose his right hand.

According to relatives, his hand was amputated early Friday because of the extent of the fireworks injury.

He had just purchased what he thought was an M-80 when he went to a Porta-Potty and the fireworks exploded.

He lost three fingers, and a tourniquet had to be applied to his hand. The hand was amputated about four hours later.

 

Boy burned in fireworks accident

-- LAS VEGAS  A 12-year-old boy suffered second-degree burns to his hand after fireworks he placed inside a plastic bottle exploded.

The boy was injured when he placed fireworks inside a 2-liter soft drink bottle.   He then stuffed the bottle with a paper bag for a wick and lighted it,

At the same time, the boy attempted to replace the bottle cap, but the bottle exploded.

The boy was taken to University Medical Center's burn unit for additional treatment.

The boy told fire investigators that other children told him how to make a device that would produce a louder bang than the smaller fireworks.

A man has been seriously injured in an horrific fireworks accident. He revealed that he needs plastic surgery. A rocket blew up in his hands as he hosted a fireworks party for friends.   He will need skin grafts on his face and arms.

 

Baby sitter loses fingers after igniting firework

-- A 14-year old girl is maimed after a firework blew up in her face.   Police say the teenager thought she was lighting a candle.   It turned out to be a homemade firework.   "When I heard the kids screaming, I ran in the house and there was this girl standing in front of the sink with her hands blown up," rescuer says.   None of their children were injured.   The Police Chief says at this point he believes the firework was made by someone else but certainly too powerful to have around children.   "This little girl went to work today to babysit kids, she'll go home without any fingers because of a firework."   The firework that blew up this morning was so powerful, it knocked the kitchen sink down thru the counter, shattered the faucet, and bent a double steel sink in half.

 

M-80 Blows Off Man's Fingertips

-- A Staten Island man lost the tips of two fingers and suffered tendon damage in others after a string of illegal M-80 firecrackers exploded in his hand.  He was taken to Hospital where  surgeons have the capability to perform microsurgery on hands. Surgeons, however, were not able to reattach the tips of two of his fingers.

 

Fireworks Harms Boy

-- A 10 year old boy was visiting his stepfather's parents and brother  when an M80 he was holding exploded severing four fingers on his right hand.

 

Illegal Fireworks Injure Seven;
One Man, Loses Three Fingers

-- Although the city's continuing crackdown on contraband fireworks succeeded in quieting a number of neighborhoods known for earsplitting barrages on past July Fourths, the police and fire officials said yesterday that the holiday was marred this year by more than a half-dozen injuries caused by illegal fireworks and firecrackers.  In one of the most serious cases, a man, 24, lost three fingers on his right hand when an M-80 firecracker he had been handling exploded at 10:30 on Sunday night in the basement of his home, Police said.    The man, who remained in Jamaica Hospital Medical Center yesterday, said the accident had made him forswear firecrackers. "I'd tell kids, 'Don't mess with it," he said in a telephone interview from his hospital bed. "That's about it."

-- A Marine lost fingers when a firecracker blew up in
his hand while he was riding to work in a pickup truck.  The firecracker was an M-80, the equivalent of a quarter stick of dynamite. "The passenger lit it off and wasn't able to throw it out in time. He lost several digits."  The Marine was flown to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs with injury to his thumb and three fingers on his right hand.

 

-- A 16-year-old boy was burned on his neck and face when the explosion happened. His shirt was set on fire.  "A firework that at the time it was sold was a legal firework, and a proper firework, that because of the way that some juveniles were using it... They changed the intent of the firework, and basically built or found a homemade launcher, and were using that to fire something similar to a mortar shell."  The firework blew a PVC pipe to bits, throwing shrapnel as far as 80 feet away.

-- A 12-year-old Little Village boy whose left eye was ruptured by a fireworks projectile during a 4th of July celebration outside his home was given only a slim chance of retaining sight in the eye, a hospital spokesman said Friday.   He also suffered small fractures in the bones around his eye and nose.  He was one of five people injured by illegal fireworks.

-- A 14-year-old boy who was badly burned after lighting a firecracker which exploded a gas can, is still in critical condition in Boston’s Shriner’s hospital.

-- A 26-year-old man has become the third Kitsap County resident this week to lose part of his hand from a fireworks explosion. Authorities say the man was stuffing bottle rockets and gunpowder into a homemade cannon around 4:30 Thursday morning when it exploded.

 

-- A 7-year-old boy lost half of his left hand including the fingers when he ignited an M-80 he found hidden in a family bedroom. The M-80 exploded in the boy's hand.

-- An 8-year-old girl received second and third degree burns to her leg when a spark from a sparkler she was holding ignited her dress.

-- Two boys, ages 10 and 8, received first and second degree burns to their arms when a bottle rocket exploded in a garage at their house. The garage and a car were totally destroyed.

 

At-home fireworks
critically injures child

-- The long Fourth of July weekend was only hours old when an at-home fireworks critically injured a child.  The ten-year-old lit an "artillery shell" -- a round ball that is dropped into a foot-long tube -- shortly after 10 p.m.    The fireworks immediately went off.  It exploded in his face.  He was taken to Hospital and later to a Burn Institute  where he was listed in critical condition.

 

Fireworks spark

An explosion at a Hastings fireworks warehouse is an example of how dangerous handling fireworks can be.  A woman, 33, and a man, 68, remain hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns. They were injured when a package of fireworks exploded at a fireworks distribution warehouse in Hastings Industrial Park East.   Authorities said the probable cause of the explosion was a loose or broken fuse ignited by a shrink-wrap packaging machine.

 

An innocent child screams in agony.   He is one of the victims of merry-making with dangerous  firecrackers. The child was one of the scores of victims admitted to hospitals as crackers and fireworks exploded all over to mark the dawn of New Year.

 

Boy loses fingers in firecracker accident

-- A 12-year-old boy blew off several fingers after lighting an explosive inside a bathroom in his home.   Police said he found the 5-inch long firecracker on his stepfather's bedroom dresser and lit it.   The explosion blew apart a sink.   He underwent surgery on his left hand at Rainbow Babies Children's Hospital and was in stable condition.   Police said the boy's older brother told them their stepfather brought home the device and had told them to stay away from it.

 

 

Emergency Surgery

-- A teenager is undergoing emergency surgery after his right hand was blown off by a firework.   Police say it's thought the device exploded when the 18-year-old picked it up to light it.    Greater Manchester Police are investigating whether it was a high-powered industrial firework.   A Greater Manchester Fire Service spokesman says it's thought to be a legal device.   "We think it is a perfectly legal firework - the type of thing you can buy over the counter - which makes it even more frightening," he said.   The brigade received more than 300 calls to firework-related incidents in a 12-hour period last night, twice the number it would expect in a normal busy period.   "We would urge anyone to attend organised events, which are much safer," the spokesman added.   Last week, a 15-year-old boy needed hospital treatment to hand and chest injuries after setting off a firework at a school in Bury.

 

Firework boy's long ordeal

-- A boy underwent a ground-breaking operation in Nottingham last month in a desperate bid to save his sight, his dad has revealed.   "They succeeded with the actual operation," he said, "and did all they'd planned to do.  But they found that the actual eye had softened.  It's come down to whether the damage is permanent or not.  If it's just traumatised, and the pressure stabilises or goes back up, then he may keep the eye.  But, if it drops, then we're on to a loser and there's nothing they can do about it."   The 12-year-old was seriously hurt after a firework exploded near his face while he was with his 20-year-old brother and a friend, who were also injured.  They had been following instructions while lighting fireworks, but one did not ignite. When the three went back to fix it, the firework exploded in their faces.

 

Battle to save eye of firework victim

-- A Worcester schoolboy seriously injured in an horrific firework accident is set for surgery to try to save the sight in one eye. The boy was badly hurt when a firework exploded in his face at a cricket pitch in Battenhall last October. He faces an operation to try and open his injured left eye, which has sealed over.
"They eyelid has sealed up, so he's going to Birmingham Eye Hospital in the next fortnight," said his dad. "At first he could open it a bit, but he can't at all now so they want to line it with a membrane and hopefully that'll help. They can't do anything more until the lid is open because it's becoming a problem in its own right. The crucial thing is to open the lid because then they'll be able to check his eye pressure and decide if we can progress at all. We still don't know if he will ever get his sight back in that eye."
The High School pupil underwent a ground-breaking operation last November to save his left eye. The pioneering surgery was the first of its kind and was performed by a professor at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre.
The accident happened when the youngster was with his 20-year-old brother and a friend on the cricket pitch, off Evendine Road. They had been following instructions while lighting fireworks, but one failed to ignite. When they went back to fix it, the firework exploded in their faces, injuring all three.

 -- Three members of a family, including two children, were injured in a fireworks blast in Bawa Chak.  A man was preparing fireworks when they caught fire. The fire engulfed the house as a result of which he and his two children 6 and 4 - sustained serious burn injuries. The injured were taken to the Allied Hospital.

 

-- A 19-year-old was holding a large firecracker that exploded when it was lit. The man lost the tips of his left index and middle fingers and broke his thumb. He has had many visits to the doctor and will have further surgeries for his injuries.

-- A 43-year-old male was struck in the eye when a bottle rocket went under his glasses and into his eye. After surgery for lacerations to the eyelid, the man reported that his vision is still blurry and he may require further operations.

-- A star basketball, baseball and football player lost one finger and part of two others when an M-80 exploded in his hand. He lighted the M-80 and started to toss it from the vehicle when he noticed a policeman nearby, while trying to put the fuse out it exploded in his left hand. The blast also shattered the car's windshield and blew a hole in the steering wheel.

 

Teen Injured While Playing With Fireworks
Fire Chief Warns To Stay Away From Duds

2003 -- A Bellevue teen wants to warn those who plan to set off fireworks this holiday weekend to be careful.     The teen, 16, bought some fireworks, and he was lighting them with his brother. One of the fireworks failed to go off. "I was coming down like this to pick it up and it blew up in the tube."    His face was just inches away. He received first and second degree burns to his face and hands.    One of his artillery shells had malfunctioned in his driveway. "It was like a burst of color right at my face," he said.    "Most of my eyebrows are gone as you can see, and it burned off most of my eyelashes," he said. Still, it could have been much worse. "I feel like the luckiest person alive because I'm still walking, and I can still use my hands and still see."    His mother, said there will be no more fireworks this year. Next year, she will go back to babysitting him when he is lighting fireworks. She thought he was old enough to do it himself. "I'm never going to be stupid like that again," he said. "That scared me more than I think it hurts."    He wants this to serve as a warning to others this holiday weekend. "Just follow the warnings that other people give you," he said.     The Bellevue fire chief warns that if a firework does not go off, you should leave it alone for hours. He said he will have crews on standby.     Doctors say his burns will heal, but he may have some scarring.

 

Child burned in family fireworks accident

2003 -- The device used in a family New Year's celebration may have malfunctioned, burning a little girl.    The two-year-old was burned while her family was shooting the fireworks in north Harris county. The firework exploded, burning the girl from the neck to the waist. We're told the family took safety precautions but the 10-shot Beefcake fireworks may have misfired.     Harris County Fire Inspector explained, "The number 8 shot fired in the air, and it tipped the device over. The number 9 shot then fired and hit the house and from the recoil spun around, and number 10 shot fired towards the family."

New Year's Fireworks Accident Burns Family

2003 -- A Harris County family remained hospitalized Friday after a fireworks device tipped over and shot flaming balls at them, severely burning a 2-year-old girl and her parents on New Year's Day, authorities say.

The incident happened shortly after midnight Wednesday at the family's home,  Harris County Fire Marshal's Office investigators said that the girl, her 29-year-old mother and her father were injured in the accident.

Witnesses told firefighters that a multi-shot fireworks device that was set on a concrete surface tipped over and shot some flaming balls."This is what's called a multi-shot cake and essentially, you have one fuse that when lit will shoot multiple aerials up into the air," Harris County Fire Marshal  said. "Seven of the 10 aerials did what they were supposed to do, (but) the eighth aerial when it fired evidentially tipped the cake over and the last two shots went horizontally across the ground."    One of the aerials hit the family's home and the other went in the direction of the family.

"Unfortunately, (the aerial) ignited the clothing on the 2 -year-old's back and burned her severely,"   The girls' parents were burned as they tried to put the fire out on their daughter, authorities said.     Paramedics rushed the family to Memorial Hermann Hospital. The girl suffered third-degree burns over 35 percent of her back; the mother  suffered first- and second-degree burns to her legs and upper body; and the father suffered first- and second-degree burns to his hands and arms.

Italy
New Year cracker toll

2004 -- Several people lost limbs in New Year fireworks accidents in Italy. They were among the almost 600 people injured by firecrackers, 39 of them seriously. A man had his leg amputated at the knee after a box of firecrackers exploded at his home in Genoa. Two men in Rome and a youth from Florence had their hands amputated, while a young man lost an eye near the town of L'Aquila.

 

Firework went through roof

-- A woman who narrowly missed being showered with glass after a neighbour's rocket exploded over her home is urging people to be aware of the dangers of letting off fireworks during bad weather. The woman had set up her ironing board beneath a glass roof in her home in Stoulton, near Worcester, and gone upstairs. When she returned, she discovered a hole in the breakfast room roof with part of a firework sticking through. Glass had showered the room and was blown into the lounge and kitchen after the rocket hit the wire-reinforced glass at around 10pm, last Friday. She believed the rocket had come from the house next door, where a party was being held. The near-miss has prompted a warning to revellers against doing the same thing. "A few moments later, I'd have been standing there," said the woman. "It doesn't bear thinking about what the consequences could have been. I think the winds deflected it towards my house."

 

Sorry

-- The host of a party where a firework exploded and landed on a neighbour's roof says she stopped the display as soon as it was realised they were dangerous. The woman who lives in Stoulton, was holding a party on Friday night when one firework was blown on to the neighbours roof.   "We realised after we'd set them off that they weren't the kind that should be set off in the garden."  We commented that they shouldn't be available to the public.  I went to see the woman on Saturday morning to apologise.  I'm glad no one was injured but I think she's sensationalised it.  It's pathetic.  It didn't explode on her roof, it exploded in the air. I don't know why she's complaining when we've lived here since 1994 and only set off three fireworks."  She owns a field nearby and every year a firework's night is held. "This is an unfortunate accident and it won't be done again." The incident is now in the hands of the insurers.

A frightening night

2004 -- A woman of Knoxfield said her family and other locals endured a frightening night of blasts and bright bursts of light, which extended well beyond midnight.

She woke yesterday to find a large burnt-out rocket in her back yard and said there were several frightening prospects from such devices flying around the suburbs.

The woman said the hard nose cone of the cracker could have caused serious damage with a direct hit on someone and it could also have created a fire.

"I'm not against fun but it could have killed someone," she said.

"It's pretty frightening. If that thing hit you in the face, you'd be lucky to have a face left."

Brunswick residents reported constant pyrotechnic displays until 2am.

Fireworks also lit the night sky over Newport in Melbourne's west.

WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said despite a state ban on fireworks to all but licensed pyrotechnicians, people were still caught smuggling them in from Canberra, where they can be bought legally.

Police seized a tonne of illegal fireworks, with a wholesale value of $14,500, after intercepting a truck in Wangaratta last week.

More than 100 people have been treated for fireworks injuries in Victoria since 2001.