Accidents Fireworks-Statistics

Firework Survey 2001

January, Benfleet, Essex, front door was set on fire by fireworks,
February, High Wycombe, fireworks thrown at someone's home,
May, Welling, London, firework thrown into an eatery,
July, Brighton, firework stuffed in a dog bin exploded,
August, Wiltshire, little dog terrified by fireworks,
September, Belfast, protesters threw fireworks,
October 3, Merseyside, firework embedded in church roof,
October 25, Worcester, 'Timebomb' tonne of fireworks in garage,
November, Accrington, a car, a phone box, and a takeaway destroyed,
December, Trafford, severely damaged car and house, by firework,

There were 182 incidents reported, separated into four categories of Arson (19), Complaint (27), Firework Danger (41), and Used as a Weapon (95),

Arson
These are examples where there is a possibility of Arson being committed, since some intent was shown. 9 houses and one bungalow were attacked. One Church and a Church Hall were also targeted. A garage, a workshop and a Yard were also hit. A caravan, a pavilion and a school nursery were also attacked. The only financial estimates given were a Ł50,000 blaze at a warehouse, and Ł1million pounds worth of aircraft at Southend. In nearly all instances the Fire Brigade was called, some buildings however the Fire Brigade were unable to save.

Complaint
18 complaints were of 'Fireworks all hours of the day and night', 'heard at 2am', 'Fireworks for two months'. The earliest complaint, was dated 17 July, and said they had suffered 'fireworks for the recent months'. Four Complaints were made in August, of 'evenings and sleep destroyed', in Wiltshire and Worcestershire. A complaint dated 5 September spoke of 'ten days of regular explosions', in Bradford, Yorkshire. A dog was injured and needed Ł1,000 worth of surgery, in Essex.
We have not included the many letters complaining of fireworks and their noise, but only those where a specific mention of the complaint was made.

Firework Danger
There were 41 instances of warnings by experienced persons, i.e. Fire-Fighters, Police, Surgeons etc, advising either to boycott fireworks or to go to a Professional Public Firework Display. Included in this section are instances of defective fireworks, fireworks going astray. Also included is the case of Rocky, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier whose fear of the noise fireworks made, was so great that he pulled his own face off.

Used as a weapon
There were 95 instances where fireworks were used as a weapon.
Targets such as
Animals, 2 cats, 5 dogs (2 died), 1 Guide dog, 2 horses, 1 kitten, 1 lamb (died).

Cars, 7 parked cars, 1 example of many thrown at passing cars.

People 1 Bus Driver, 2 Children, 1 Elderly Couple, 10 Fire Fighters, 11 People, 2 Policemen, 1 Soldier.

Buildings 2 Church Halls, 3 Flat, 27 Houses (17 via the letter box), 1 large Hut,
1 Old People's Home, 1 Police Station, 7 Public House, 1 Restaurant,
1 School, 17 Shops, 1 Takeaway, 1 Toilet, 1 Warehouse.

Others 1 Dog Bin, 1 Grid, 3 Phone Boxes, 5 Post Boxes,

The first recorded incident is on 1st February where a resident of High Wycombe had 'fireworks thrown at his home four times already this year', and the last was 20th December where 'Four fireworks taped together were dropped through an Ormskirk family's letter box'.

National Fire Protection Association.
May 2003 report.

-- In 2001, 9,500 people were injured from fireworks seriously enough to send them to emergency rooms, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

In 1995 to 1999, nine people per year were killed in fires started by fireworks, while seven people per year were killed directly by fireworks, according to the association's May 2003 report.

Statistics from Health Canada 1998

SUMMARY (175 records)

-- Injuries associated with fireworks were sustained most frequently by 10-14 year olds (42.3%). Of all injuries related to fireworks, 77.1% were to males. Over a third of the injuries (38.9%) occurred between the hours of 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. The injuries peaked in the days surrounding Halloween (20.0%), Victoria Day (15.4%) and Canada Day (8.6%). All injuries around Halloween were in Western Canada, while all injuries around Victoria Day were in Central Canada. Many injuries occurred around the patient's own home, 34.3%. Many patients were injured when the firework exploded while it was in their hands (28.0%). Overall, the most frequent types of injury were burns, 61.5%, and the body part most often affected was the head (39.7%). Eye injuries accounted for 20.6% of the injuries, approximately ten times higher than the average for all injuries in the CHIRPP database. Injuries that required advice only or minor treatment accounted for 30.9% of patients, while 56.6% of patients needed medical follow-up after leaving the emergency department and 12.6% were admitted to hospital. The percentage of firework injuries requiring hospitalization was approximately two times higher than the average for all injuries in the CHIRPP database.

Statistics

-- The United States imported approximately $67 million of pyrotechnics and explosives from China in 1992. Children are reportedly working in the fireworks industry. A recent newspaper report detailed an explosion at a fireworks factory in Hebei killing one child and injuring 34 school girls ranging from 11 to 13 years of age. Investigators found that the school children had been forced by their teachers to work for slave wages making firecrackers. The school children were apparently promised 20 fen (2 cents) for making one long braid of firecrackers, but were actually paid three fen (0.3 cents). In its China Labor Notes newsletter of February/March 1994, AAFLI observes that this information was made public 38 days after the disaster occurred and no television coverage was permitted. In 1992, another fire at a fireworks factory killed 20 workers - it was reported that most of those killed were between 9 and 14 years old.

Statistics

-- During the summer season and July 4th holiday hundreds of children and adults are seriously injured through the use and misuse of fireworks. Fireworks if properly used can be relatively safe, but many fireworks, present serious risks that each year result in deaths, blindings, amputations and severe burns.

In 2000 nearly 11,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireworks. About 55 percent of the injuries were burns, and most of the injuries involved the hands, eyes, and head. Nearly half of the victims were children under 15 years of age.

Fireworks Injuries
Summary

-- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that in 1998, 8,500 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireworks. About 5,000 of those injuries occurred during the one-month period surrounding the Fourth of July.

Approximately 55 percent of the fireworks-related injuries were burns, and most of the burns involved the hands, eyes and head/face. Over 40 percent of the victims were under 15 years of age, and about 75 percent of them were males.

From a special study of fireworks-related injuries covering the period June 23-July 23, 1999, CPSC estimates there were 6,300 emergency room-treated injuries, most involving firecrackers, rockets, and sparklers. Large, illegal fireworks, such as M-80s, were involved in an estimated 600 injuries. CPSC compiles information on fireworks injuries from around the country each year.

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

-- A 13-year-old boy was struck in the forehead by a reloadable shell, causing a skull fracture. He had surgery. Two weeks later he was taken off life support and died.

U.S. fireworks injuries last year

-- Six people were killed and about 11,000 injured.
-- Firecrackers caused the most injuries (32 percent) followed by bottle rockets (15 percent) and sparklers (10 percent).
-- Twice as many males were injured as females.
-- Children under 15 had half the injuries.
-- The eyes, hands and face were most often damaged.
-- One in four eye injuries led to permanent blindness.
-- Deaths usually involved structure or vehicle fires caused by fireworks.

Suffolk fire officials reported eight firework injuries as of 10
p.m., one of them serious facial wounds on an unidentified man from
Miller Place who was taken by Medivac to University Hospital at Stony
Brook.
Other firework injuries reported included an 11-year-old boy with
face and neck burns in Shirley, a child with chest wounds in Rocky
Point, a man with an amputated finger in Copiague, a man with burns to
the face in Islip, a man with chest wounds caused by a mortar in West
Babylon, a man with a bleeding hand in Huntington and a youth whose hand
was hurt by an M-80 in Ridge, Suffolk fire officials said.
Suffolk fire officials said the number of injuries last night were
down compared to last year, although they could not say by how much.
At least four persons suffered fireworks injuries in Nassau last
night, including a 25-year-old man from East Rockaway with burns to his
left leg, a 19-year-old Baldwin man with facial injuries, a 17-year-old
Freeport woman with eye injuries and an unidentified male medic with leg
burns.

The Dangers of Fireworks.
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency

-- Fireworks are enjoyable and exciting to watch, but each year they injure thousands of people, many of them children, and cause thousands of fires. Federal and state laws prohibit the sale of certain types of fireworks, but even those that are legal can be dangerous. For example, sparklers, which are legal in the majority of states, burn at temperatures of approximately 2,000 degrees F.

To prevent injuries and property loss from fireworks, the federal government has banned the sale of the most dangerous types (Class B fireworks). These include M–80s, cherry bombs, firecrackers containing more than 50 milligrams of black powder, and mail order kits for building fireworks. Working with the U.S. Customs Office, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has seized nearly 400 million pounds of illegal fireworks at U.S. docks since 1988.

Studies have suggested that state laws regulating the sale of fireworks directly affect the occurrence of fireworks-related injuries. In one state, the number of injuries seen in emergency departments more than doubled following the legalization of fireworks.

An estimated 8,500 people sought treatment for fireworks-related injuries in 1998. Forty-five percent of those were children under the age of 15. Further, fireworks caused 13 fatalities.

Despite the increasing consumption of fireworks over the last decade, fireworks injuries have actually decreased. This trend is possibly due to the increasing popularity of large, professionally executed public fireworks displays, which use thousands of pounds of fireworks and rarely cause injuries.

Despite this downward trend, fireworks remain dangerous. Each year, newspapers report numerous instances of people injured or killed by fireworks. Examples include:

-- On July 6, 2000, a man was killed while launching powerful, professional-caliber rockets near a friend’s home. He apparently leaned over the rocket when it did not immediately launch and was struck in the head when the rocket fired several seconds later.

-- In a similar accident, a New York man was killed when he peered into the mouth of a launch tube for an aerial bomb. When the charge initially failed to fire, he looked inside the mortar tube and was nearly decapitated when the charge went off several seconds later.

-- In Colorado, a 10-inch mortar shell thought to be a dud exploded after a fireworks display had concluded. Six firefighters standing nearby were taken to the hospital for hearing tests.

-- In Iowa, a teenager was killed and five were injured when fireworks thrown from their sport utility vehicle blew back into the vehicle, causing a fire and a crash.

Of injuries caused by fireworks:
•70 to 75% occur during a 30-day period surrounding July 4 (June 23– July 23)
•Seven out of 100 persons injured require hospitalization
•Males are three times more likely than females to be injured
• Boys between the ages of 10 and 14 have the highest rates of injury
• Common injuries are to the hands (34%), face (12%), and eyes (17%).

The following discussion is based on a 3-year average using 1996–98 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data and reflects injuries, fatalities, and fire loss associated with fires caused by fireworks, which are different from the figures presented earlier that reflect injuries, fatalities, and property loss caused directly by fireworks. Fireworks fires cause approximately $15 million in property loss, injure 50, and kill 15 annually. Most fires are clustered around Independence Day, New Year’s Eve, and other holidays or celebrations. Fifty-seven percent of fires caused by fireworks occur in July, and nearly 20% occur on July 4 .

Given the high number of children injured by fireworks, it is not surprising that the most common ignition factor for fires related to fireworks is children playing with or otherwise misusing fireworks. Casualties from fireworks fires are somewhat less than those from all fires, and property loss is significantly less because most fireworks fires are outside fires with lower dollar value than structure fires.

In addition to civilian injuries, fireworks fires are also deadly to firefighters. For example, in separate 1998 incidents in Alabama and Oklahoma, two firefighters were killed as a result of fires caused by fireworks. Because fireworks can be dangerous and deadly, the safest way to enjoy them is through public displays conducted by professional pyrotechnicians hired by communities over July 4 or at other times during the year.

FIREWORK FINDINGS

-- Fireworks were the cause of 13 fatalities, 8,500 injuries, 7,000 fires, and $40 million in property loss in 1998.

-- State laws regulating the sale of fireworks have a direct impact on the incidence of loss. More stringent laws have been responsible for a decrease in injuries in the last decade — from a high of 12,100 in 1990 to a low of 7,800 in 1996.

-- 70-75% of fireworks injuries occur during a 30-day period (June 23-July 23). In addition to Independence Day, other peak periods for injuries are New Year’s Eve and other holidays.

-- 45% of fireworks injuries are to children under the age of 15. Males are three times more likely than females to be injured.

Statistics from Health Canada 1998

SUMMARY (175 records)

TIME OF YEAR DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

-- The injuries peaked in the days surrounding Halloween, Victoria Day and Canada Day. All injuries around Halloween were in Western Canada, while all injuries around Victoria Day were in Central Canada. The injuries around Canada Day were spread across the country.

NUMBER

PERCENT OF
INJURIES

Halloween (Oct. 24 - Nov. 2)
35

20.0

Victoria Day (May 16 - 23)
27

15.4

Canada Day (June 29 - July 3)
15

8.6

No pattern detected
98

56.0

Total
175

100.0

CIRCUMSTANCES AND FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INJURY

-- Note: The following is a list of frequently occurring circumstances and factors in injuries related to fireworks. Each patient was assigned to a single category and percentages were based on 175 persons injured. Category assignment was based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury.

NUMBER

PERCENT OF
INJURIES

Firework exploded while in hands
49

28.0

Burned by firework while playing with it or by being within proximity to it (no explosion involved)
40

22.9

Injured as a spectator of fireworks
34

19.4

Firework exploded near patient
30

17.1

Firework thrown at patient (consequences unspecified)
16

9.1

Glass bottle which contained firework injured patient when firework exploded
2

1.1

Other
4

2.3

Total
175

100.0

TYPE OF FIREWORK INVOLVED IN INJURY

NUMBER

PERCENT OF
INJURIES

Firecracker *
75

42.9

Firework, not further specified
73

41.7

Sparkler
20

11.4

Roman candle
3

1.7

Flare gun
2

1.1

Screamer
1

0.6

Cannon
1

0.6

Total
175

100.0

-- Fireworks are a general term used to describe a type of explosive; firecrackers are small fireworks used solely as noisemakers. It is unclear whether the patients reporting the injuries are making a clear distinction between the two terms or whether they are using them interchangeably.

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 was misdirected. 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.

Deaths

-- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC files contain entries for thirteen deaths that occurred from fireworks during 1998. Below are synopses of the cases:

-- Six women and one man between 25 and 52 years old died in an explosion in a fireworks factory in Jefferson Township, Michigan.

-- Two girls, 9 and 13 years old, died from smoke inhalation in a mobile home fire in Ellsinore, Missouri that was started by sparks from smoldering fireworks.

-- A 12-year-old female was killed in Cleveland, Ohio, when she was struck in the head by a mortar shell at a neighborhood park.

-- A 17-year-old man died in Navarino, Wisconsin after being struck by shrapnel from a mailbox where he had placed a lighted firecracker.

-- A 29-year-old man drowned in Fox Lake, Illinois after he blew a hole in the bottom of his boat with a large firecracker.

-- A 56-year-old Connecticut man was launching fireworks out of a plastic tube in Block Island, Rhode Island. He peered inside the tube when one firework failed. The firework went off and struck him in the head.