9,800 People Treated in Emergency Departments for Fireworks-Related Injuries in 2007
Be Safe: Leave Fireworks Displays to Trained Professionals
In 2007, eleven people died and an estimated 9,800 were treated in emergency departments for fireworks-related injuries in the United States.1 An estimated 5% of fireworks-related injuries treated in emergency departments required hospitalization.1
An estimated 6,300 fireworks-related injuries – about two-thirds of all fireworks-related injuries in 2007 – occurred between June 22 and July 22. During that time period:
- more than one out of every three people injured were children under 15 years of age;
- males experienced about 70% of the fireworks-related injuries; and
- young people under twenty sustained more than half of all injuries (54%) from fireworks.1
- People actively participating in fireworks-related activities are more frequently and severely injured than bystanders.1
What kinds of injuries occur?
Between June 22 and July 22, 2007:
- Injuries most often affected the hands or fingers (2,000 injuries), eyes (1,400 injuries), leg (1,200 injuries) and the head, face, and ear (900 injuries).1
- More than half of the injuries were burns. Burns were the most common injury to all body parts except the eyes and head areas, where contusions, lacerations and foreign bodies in the eye occurred more frequently.1
- Fireworks can be associated with blindness, third degree burns, and permanent scarring.2
- Fireworks can also cause life-threatening residential and motor vehicle fires.1
Data Source:
1 Greene MA, Joholske J. 2007 Fireworks Annual Report: Fireworks-Related Deaths, Emergency Department Treated Injuries, and Enforcement Activities During 2007. Washington (DC): U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; 2008 [cited 29 June 2009]. (PDF)
2 Smith GA, Knapp JF, Barnett, TM, Shields BJ. The rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air: fireworks-related injuries to children. Pediatrics 1996; 98(1):1-9.
1:32 mins) 
