BAN ALL ILLEGAL FIREWORKS

Injuries and Fires caused by Fireworks

Injuries

According to the Consumer Protection agency, more than 8,800 people sustained an injury from fireworks serious enough to send them to their local emergency room in 2001. There were four reported deaths due to fireworks in 2002, four in 2001 and 10 in 2000.. The majority of the injuries were burns (58.9%). Forty seven percent of the injuries were suffered by children under 14 years old.
Detailed information is available at the CPSC website.
www.cpsc.gov/search.html And type in “fireworks injuries” in the search box.

In addition, the NFPA reports that the injury figures underscore the fact that the risk of fireworks use -- measured as a rate of serious injuries per hour of exposure -- ranks with the highest risks of any known product. Any increase in the very limited (one day a year) typical usage pattern results in a large increase in injuries. Meanwhile, the share of fireworks injuries occurring at public displays remained low (none of the reported injuries) for Independence Day 2001. You really must leave fireworks to the professionals. Their shows are spectacular but safe. Amateur displays are unacceptably dangerous, especially to children, whose injury rates, as always, were several times those of adults
www.nfpa.org Type in “fireworks” in the search box.

Fires as a Result of Fireworks

The NFPA reports that 24,200 fires were the result of fireworks in 1999 at a cost of $17.2 million in direct property damage. !999 is the most recent year data is available.
www.nfpa.org Type in “fireworks” in the search box.


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