Maryland authorities have a word of advice for anyone planning a big fireworks display for the Fourth of July.
“Leave it to the professionals,” Teresa Crisman, director of public affairs for the Office of Maryland State Fire Marshal, said during a fireworks safety demonstration at the Howard County Public Safety Training Center in Marriottsville this week.
Though most jurisdictions ban or restrict explosive fireworks, some residents purchase illegal products elsewhere, Ms. Crisman said, adding that there can be severe consequences for misusing explosives.
Last year, the fire marshal’s office saw two fatalities from fireworks. Both victims were holding mortar shells to their chests.
“It literally went back into their chest and killed them instantly,” Ms. Crisman said.“It was devastating.”
During the safety event, officials with the fire marshal’s office and the Maryland State Police demonstrated the explosive force of even a small firecracker, which damaged a stand-in for a human eye.
Other scenarios ripped apart a fake human hand and obliterated a melon, which was used as an analog for a person’s head.
Dr. Youssra Marjoua, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hands, said she has witnessed the damage of mishandled fireworks. She said her clinic can sometimes piece hands back together, but often so much damage is done that the hand tissue cannot be salvaged.
“It's never fully restored to its preinjury level of function,” Dr. Marjoua said.
Even hand-held sparklers, which have no explosive element, can be dangerous if mishandled. During the demonstration, a sparkler was placed near a mannequin, whose shirt caught fire and burned the mannequin beyond repair.
The fire marshal’s office shared some grim statistics on fireworks accidents:
• Burns account for 44% of the 9,100 injuries that are treated during the month around July 4th.
• Children aged 10 to 14 generally endure the highest rates of fireworks injuries.
• More than 36% of fireworks injury patients are under the age of 15.
• Sparklers account for one-quarter of emergency room visits due to burns.
According to the fire marshal’s office, illegal fireworks include firecrackers, cherry bombs, M-80s, Roman candles, bottle rockets, spinning wheels and any firework that is shot from a mortar tube.
Legal fireworks include sparklers that do not contain chlorates or perchlorates, non-explosive ground-based sparkling devices, and ash-producing pellets known as snakes.
Fourth of July spectators are encouraged to view professionally administered fireworks from one of the 96 approved sites on The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal website.
Ms. Crisman, the fire marshal office's spokesperson, stressed the danger of amateur fireworks displays.
“You don’t want to be that person in the hospital,” she said.
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