2010 News Archive 

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Be safe and let the pros handle the fireworks

Fire safety officials are recommending that people enjoy fireworks at professionally conducted public displays.

"Just because you can buy them over the counter or they don't shoot in the air doesn't mean they're safe," said Johns Creek Fire Marshal Chad McGiboney. "They're still explosive devices. People underestimate how dangerous they are. All it takes is one accident for fireworks to change your life."

According to the National Fire Protection Association, more fires are reported on the Fourth of July than any other day of the year, and hospitals see about thousands of people injured by fireworks – most of them children.

Sparklers, for example, burn at a scorching 1,200 degrees. The NFPA also states that the risk of fireworks injury is 2 ½ times as high for children 10 to 14 years old as the general population. Males accounted for 62 percent of those injuries.

Children should never pick up fireworks that may be left over because the explosive may still be active.

Hospitals say that most fireworks-related injuries are to hands and fingers, followed by eye injuries. Most injuries are burns, but hospital officials record that cuts are common as well.

Fireworks also cause property damage. The NFPA said that in 2008, fireworks caused an estimated 22,500 fires resulting in $42 million in property damage.