After 2 fireworks-related deaths last year in Maryland, fire marshal warns about unpredictability

Debra Robinson has heard parents express regret many times about allowing their children to play with fireworks around the Independence Day holiday.

“‘Wow, I turned away for a second, two seconds,'” Robinson recalled some parents saying as they brought a child to the emergency room for care. “The guilt that’s there and that you will never be able to take that back, that is such a devastating response from parents.”

Robinson is a pediatric burn and trauma program manager at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, and was one of four people who spoke at a fireworks safety event last week. The event, held June 26 at the James N. Robey Public Safety Training Center in Howard County, featured presentations and demonstrations from members of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Howard County Fire and Rescue Department, and others.

During his presentation, Acting State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray stressed the importance of fireworks safety in the wake of eight deaths associated with fireworks in 2023, as reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Two of the people who died were from Maryland, Mowbray said.

The commission also received reports of almost 10,000 injuries involving fireworks in 2023.

“Burns, lacerations and eye injuries are all too common among those handling or even just observing unpermitted firework displays,” Mowbray said. “The unpredictable nature of fireworks means that even experienced individuals can be caught off guard by malfunctions or improper handling.”

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Only gold-labeled sparklers, party poppers, snap pops, ignitable snakes and other ground-based sparkler devices are allowed to be used in Maryland, according to the state fire marshal’s office.

Ground-based sparklers are prohibited in Ocean City and Harford and Howard counties. And in Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties all fireworks are illegal.

Duane Svites, the bomb squad commander with the state fire marshal’s office, demonstrated use of legal and illegal fireworks and their possible consequences on a variety of items, including a human mannequin, a fake human hand, a melon (to represent human limbs) and an egg (to represent an eye).

In each demonstration, the mannequin, hand, melon and egg were burnt, exploded and dented due to their proximity to the fireworks.

“That is no over-exaggeration and that is what we see with traumatic injuries to hands in fireworks,” Svites said after event attendees watched an M-80 firecracker detonate.

The explosive is illegal in Maryland.

Gordon Wallace, deputy chief of the Howard County Fire and Rescue Department, reminded attendees that while party poppers, ignitable snakes, snap pops and handheld sparklers are legal in Howard County, they still are dangerous when not handled with care. Handheld sparklers can reach up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, Wallace said, and there is a pattern of a spike in fireworks-related injuries and deaths in the month surrounding July 4.

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He recommended residents who choose to purchase legal fireworks to follow a few safety tips:

• Keep children away from leftover fireworks.
• Douse used devices with water for a few hours.
• Never point fireworks at another person.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby.
• Keep all fireworks activities within adult supervision.
• Ensure other people are out of range of fireworks before lighting them.

Robinson also emphasized the importance of maintaining a safe perimeter around fire pits and keeping water close by, because children can quickly fall into the pits and sparks can ignite clothing, grass or other dry materials. Exercising caution with all forms of fire outside is especially important now as extreme heat across the state dries out grass and trees, Robinson added.

In addition, Ray Wittstadt, a hand surgeon with the MedStar Health Curtis National Hand Center, said many hand injuries do not fully heal.

“When something’s been blown off with an explosion, there’s often very little that we can do to salvage that situation,” Wittstadt said.

All presenters also stressed that fireworks displays should be left to professionals. Public fireworks shooters are required to be tested by the Office of the State Fire Marshal under National Fire Protection Association requirements , Svites said, and receive a license for three years after being approved. Events using fireworks are required to have a permit approved by the state fire marshal’s office, he added.

“The best way to protect your family is not to use fireworks at home,” Robinson said. “Attend a public fireworks display done by professionals.”