Huntington Hospital Handles Fallout From Firework Mishaps

Huntington residents continue to celebrate the Fourth of July and other events with backyard displays of fireworks, despite the documented dangers.

Dr. Jennifer Goebel, an emergency medicine specialist at Huntington Hospital, said that fireworks injuries can mean the loss of fingers or hands, or serious burns,

“We see hand and fingers but also head, face, even ears and eyes,” she said. “But burns are the most common injury.”

Huntington Hospital will take burn cases victims but if they need a higher, specialized level of care, they are transported to Stony Brook or Nassau University Medical Center.

“People are shooting off fireworks while they’re intoxicated, and people don’t take precautions,” she said. They often don’t have fire extinguishers at hand, she said.

“The sparklers burn at high temperatures. They look pretty and they’re fun but we see a tremendous number of children,” as a result, she said.