DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – Many North Texans will continue to pop fireworks over the Independence Day weekend and the Parkland Burn Center in Dallas wants residents to be safe.
Stephanie Chapman is a nurse at the burn center and said every year they see a spike in fireworks-related injuries.
“In the last five years, we’ve admitted over 40 patients for burn related injuries that were bad enough that require us to bring them into the hospital and help them with further care sometimes that means skin grafting, long-term rehabilitation and wound care,” she said.
Parkland reports the most common fireworks injuries staff sees at the burn center are caused by roman candles, bottle rockets and sparklers. Chapman said even a simple sparkler, which are often given to children, can reach up to 1200 degrees…that’s hot enough to melt glass and wood.
She said putting on your own show isn’t worth the risk.
“The patients we see have very deep burns…sometimes a lot of tissue damage…sometimes people lose fingers or an eye. The other risk is the firework can ignite your clothing on fire and cause an even bigger burn than you would see with just the impact of the burn,” said Chapman.
Parkland said those types of injuries can cost thousands of dollars due to potential operations, hospital stay and follow up appointments.
When it comes to the fireworks, the hospital’s motto is leave the “show to the pros.”
However, if people are going to pop fireworks, Parkland has some advice to keep them safe.
- Never use fireworks while impaired by drugs or alcohol
- Never allow young children to handle fireworks
- Older children should use them only under close adult supervision
- Anyone using fireworks or standing nearby should wear protective eyewear
- Never light them indoors
- Only use them away from people, houses and flammable material
- Only light one device at a time and maintain a safe distance after lighting
- Never ignite devices in a container
- Do not try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks
- Soak unused fireworks in water for a few hours before discarding
- Keep a bucket of water nearby to fully extinguish fireworks that don’t go off or in case of fire
According to the U.S. Consumer Protections Division, in 2017 at least eight people died and almost 13,000 were injured badly enough to require medical attention due to fireworks.
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