🧨 Boom! Bang! A Visit to the Emergency Department? A Parent’s Guide to Fireworks, Kids, and Keeping All 10 Fingers This July 4th

By Peter B. Richman, MD, MBA Professor of Emergency Medicine | Not a fan of backyard pyrotechnics

Jul 01, 2025

🎇 “It’s Just a Sparkler!”... Said Every Parent, Right Before the Emergency Department Visit

Let’s set the scene: It’s July 4th. Your kids are amped on popsicles and patriotism. Uncle Gary is drinking a beverage with more syllables than ingredients. Someone has just lit a firework labeled “Caution: May Detonate Freedom.” The dog is under the couch. And you’re wondering… “Is this safe?”

If you have children—and a preference for fully functional hands, eyes, and hearing—you’ll want to read this before lighting up the sky. Because fireworks injuries to children are more common (and more severe) than most families realize.

📊 Fireworks Injury Stats: What the Data Shows

Every year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) tracks fireworks-related injuries—and the results are not a tribute to good judgment.

💥 In 2023, an estimated 9,700 emergency department visits were due to fireworks injuries (CPSC, 2024).
👶 38% of all injuries occurred in children under age 15.
📆 73% of these injuries happened during the first week of July.

🚸 The Youngest Are at Highest Risk

🍼 Children aged 0–4 have the highest injury rate relative to population size (CPSC, 2024).
🔥 Sparklers were responsible for nearly 50% of injuries in children under age 5 (Witsaman et al., 2006).

⚠️ Sparklers burn at over 1,200°F—hot enough to melt glass, aluminum, or the plastic patio table you swore was “out of range.”

💥 Injury Types: Where It Hurts

Fireworks injuries don’t just mean “minor burns.” These are often disfiguring, sight-threatening, or life-altering traumas.

Most Commonly Injured Body Parts (CPSC, 2024):

🖐️ Hands and fingers: 29%
😵 Head, face, and ears: 19%
👁️ Eyes: 16%
🦵 Legs: 14%
🫀 Trunk/other: 13%

Types of Injuries:

Burns: Make up 66% of all fireworks injuries (CDC, 2022).
Lacerations: Caused by shrapnel and explosions.
Blast injuries: Ruptured eardrums, concussions.
Eye trauma: From corneal abrasions to globe rupture (AAO, 2023).
Amputations: Often fingers, usually from homemade devices or relighting duds (ASSH, 2023).

🤕 Real Tales from the Emergency Department

“It wasn’t even one of the big ones.”

We hear this every year.

A 10-year-old with burns from holding a Roman candle too long.
A 14-year-old hit when a mortar tipped and launched sideways.
A toddler grabbing the hot end of a sparkler and blistering their palm.

These aren’t freak accidents. They’re textbook cases… in the wrong kind of textbook.

🧠 Myth-Busting: Sparklers Are NOT Safe

Sparklers are responsible for over one-quarter of all fireworks injuries in children under 5 (Witsaman et al., 2006). Yet every year, they’re handed out like glow sticks at a kid’s party.

One glows harmlessly. The other glows like a welding torch. Guess which one we give toddlers?

“But we supervise them!”
Great! So were 60% of the parents whose kids still ended up in the emergency department
(CPSC, 2023 – typically from annual report contributory data tables).

Supervision helps. But supervision doesn’t turn a flaming stick into a safe toy.

✅ Safety Strategies for Sane Parents

If you absolutely must celebrate with backyard fireworks:

❌ No sparklers for kids under 12.
Safer: glow sticks, confetti poppers, LED wands.
🚧 Create a 20-foot blast zone. Keep spectators far back.
🎯 One firework at a time. Never relight a dud.
💦 Keep a hose or bucket of water nearby.
🚫 No fireworks for unsupervised teens. Mustache ≠ maturity.
🔬 Avoid homemade fireworks. TikTok is not a safety credential.

The best way to protect your kids? Let the professionals handle the boom-boom.

🚑 What To Do If There’s an Injury

🩹 Burns:
Cool with water (not ice). Cover with a clean cloth. No butter, ointment, or essential oils.

👁️ Eye trauma:
Do not apply pressure or patch the eye. If globe rupture is suspected, loosely shield the eye with a rigid object (like the bottom of a paper cup) without pressing on it. Get to the emergency department immediately. Do not rinse or attempt removal of debris.

🧠 Blast injuries:
Watch for bleeding, confusion, hearing loss, or dizziness—seek immediate care.

🎆 Final Words: Skip the Trauma, Keep the Tradition

Fireworks are beautiful. So are your child’s fingers, retinas, and eardrums.

Choose the community fireworks show over backyard bravado. If you’re still going DIY, take every precaution seriously.

Because nothing says “freedom” like staying out of the emergency department.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Fireworks Annual Report: 2023. Published June 2024.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Fireworks Safety for Children. HealthyChildren.org, 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fireworks-Related Injuries. Updated July 2022.
American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH). Fireworks Injuries and Safety. 2023.
Witsaman RJ, Comstock RD, Smith GA. Pediatric Fireworks-Related Injuries in the U.S.: 1990–2003. Pediatrics. 2006;118(1):296–303.
American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Fireworks Eye Safety: What You Need to Know. 2023.

Author’s Note on Content Creation
I use AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini in an iterative workflow to help with reference cross-checking, fact validation, and initial drafts. The final tone, structure, humor, and all opinions remain my own as an emergency physician, educator, and parent. These articles reflect my writing, my judgment, and my voice—with a little help from the robots.