Bangor hospital sees more patients on July 5 than on Independence Day

A Bangor hospital reported seeing more people visiting the emergency room with Fourth of July-related injuries or illnesses on July 5 rather than on the actual holiday.

Over the last five years, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center received an average of 83 patients in the emergency department on July 4, said Kris Currier, a spokesperson for Northern Light Health. But on July 5, an average of 105 people came to the emergency room seeking help in the last five years.

Hand trauma from fireworks, “injuries associated with high-risk behaviors involving alcohol consumption,” and heat-related issues are among the conditions hospital staff see most often on July 4 or 5, Currier said.

This trend isn’t exclusive to Independence Day, Currier said. The hospital often sees higher volumes of patients with more severe conditions on the day after a major holiday rather than the holiday itself.

The Pew Research Center found that more than 45,000 people visited emergency rooms on July 4 and 5 in 2019, far exceeding the roughly 40,700 daily emergency visits across the United States in the summer.

Burns and cuts from fireworks are the most common reasons people seek emergency care on the Fourth of July.

While the hospital sees a rise in numbers following the Fourth of July, the Bangor Fire Department hasn’t noticed an increase in fire or medical calls associated with fireworks or other Fourth of July festivities in recent years, according to Eric Pelletier, deputy chief of the Bangor Fire Department.

Pelletier credited this to Bangor’s ban on selling or using consumer fireworks in the city.

The Bangor Fire Department typically receives from 15 to 20 calls on an average day, according to Pelletier.

The fire department doesn’t boost staffing on the Fourth of July, Pelletier said, but an engine is usually assigned to the city’s fireworks display in the event of an emergency.

If the holiday is expected to bring particularly hot weather, the department also stations emergency medical personnel along the Fourth of July parade route to help anyone with a heat-related emergency.

Nationwide, fireworks started an estimated 31,302 fires in 2022, which caused approximately six deaths, 44 injuries and $109 million in property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

On July 2, a home in Fort Kent was destroyed by a fire that started from sparklers lit inside the house. There were two parents and three children in the home at the time, but everyone escaped safely with no injuries.

On July 4, 2015, a Calais man died instantly when he set off a fireworks mortar tube on his head, despite urging from his friends not to do it.