Firecracker or Fireworks Injuries
With all the recent media attention on Fire works HAND injury it important to review safety tips and to remind the public that this is not a new problem. The ASSH, State Fire Marshalls, Public officlals and Health Care Personnel have been advocating for Fireworks Safety for years to try to prevent these injuries.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, national losses involving fireworks amount to 3 deaths and 10,527 injuries annually. Hand and finger injuries are the most common and account for 32 percent of all injuries. Head and eye injuries occur with about the same frequency, equaling 19 and 18 percent of total injuries.
Furthermore recent data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,revealed that 50% of all reported fireworks-related injuries from June 17-July 17, 2011, were to fingers, hands, and arms. These injuries included burns, lacerations, fractures, and traumatic amputation.
2013 Report Data reveals In 2013, there were eight deaths and an estimated 11,400 consumers who sustained injuries related to fireworks. This is an increase from 8,700 injuries in 2012. Sixty-five percent, or 7,400, of the injuries in 2013 occurred in the 30 days surrounding July 4, 2013. CPSC staff reviewed fireworks incident reports from hospital emergency rooms, death certificate files, news clippings and other sources to estimate deaths, injuries and incident scenarios. Injuries were frequently the result of the user playing with lit fireworks or igniting fireworks while holding the device. Consumers also reported injuries related to devices that malfunctioned or devices that did not work as expected, including injuries due to errant flight paths, devices that tipped over and blowouts.
Of the finger, hand, and arm injuries, the majority of injuries were caused from accidents involving firecrackers, bottle rockets, and sparklers— the three firework-types most often used in a backyard environment. Accidents involving firecrackers, bottle rockets, and hand-held sparklers totaled 57% of all firework injuries (source: American Pyrotechnic Association).
A review of firework mishaps shows a variety of factors contribute to the typical mishap. Most pre-school age victims are injured by fireworks ignited by someone else, while older children who are injured are usually lighting the fireworks themselves. Children under age five are commonly hurt by rocket-type fireworks; small firecrackers and ground spinners injure the majority of children between the ages of 5 and 14. Most of the injuries associated with large, illegal firecrackers such as M-80's are to older teenagers or adults.
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