Don’t Get Burned

 

With Independence Day just around the corner, Nick Pasion has a warning about fireworks:

Since Pennsylvania legalized consumer-grade fireworks in 2017, authorities have reported a sharp increase in fireworks-related accidents that have strained emergency responders, lit schools on fire and blown off fingers.

 

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that injuries from fireworks rose during the pandemic:

Sales of consumer fireworks increased in 2020, when many community firework displays were cancelled because of COVID-19. Sadly, severe injuries and deaths from fireworks increased, too. About 15,600 people were treated in hospital emergency departments for fireworks injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission​, and at least 18 people died.

Of those injured, roughly 1,100 were under age 5, another 1,400 were ages 5 to 14, and 1,300 were 15 to 19. Parts of the body most often burned or wounded were hands and fingers (30%), head, face, and ears (22%), eyes (15%), legs (13%), and arms (12%).

 

Pasion says following the law and using a little common sense helps reduce fireworks-related injuries:

Firework regulations demand that fireworks be lit at least 150 feet from any occupied structure, including cars and trucks. They also cannot be ignited by someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol or without the property owner’s express permission. Nor can you light them on public land.

Other fireworks safety tips included keeping a safe distance from the ignition point, lighting fireworks away from other combustibles like trees or garbage and keeping an eye on young children to ensure they are not touching any possible explosives or dangerous fireworks remains.

 

The AAP has another idea for keeping kids safe this Independence Day:

Wave a flag instead of a sparkler. Sparklers may seem relatively harmless, as fireworks go. But nearly half of fireworks injuries to children under age 5 are related to sparklers. Surprising? Consider this:

• Sparklers burn at an extremely high heat: 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit—hot enough to melt some metals.

• Sparks can ignite clothing on fire and cause eye injuries.

• Touching a lit sparkler to skin can result in third degree burns.

There were about 900 emergency department-treated injuries associated with sparklers in 2020. Roughly 1,600 more injuries were related to firecrackers, 600 to Roman candles, and 600 more to bottle rockets and other rockets.

 

Click on the infographic below from the CPSC to read more about fireworks safety.

 

 

The PediaBlog has covered fireworks safety before — here, here, and here — and a reminder on how to keep pets calm, cool, and collected when the fireworks start flying here.

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/06/30/dont-get-burned-3/