Fireworks Injuries On The Rise In The United States

Fireworks injuries are reportedly on the rise in the United States! So, be careful celebrating the 4th of July!

Independence Day can be one of the most fun days of the year--if you do it right. If you do it wrong, it can quickly become the worst day of the year or your life. I feel like we talk about it every year. Someone does something dumb to get injured on the 4th of July. In fact, it doesn't even have to be something dumb, those stories just get the most headlines. You can be injured doing things right if you're not careful! You'd think after hearing about all these stories of people getting hurt year-after-year that we would learn our lesson but that does not appear to be the case. It seems to actually be the opposite. More people are suffering fireworks injuries here in the United States!

According to ACHI, there was a 52% increase in fireworks injuries from 2023 to 2024. Burns seem to be the most common type of injury, accounting for 37% of emergency room visits, per ACHI. Most of the time it was to the hands and fingers (36% of time time) and 22% of the time were injuries to the head, face, and ears.

Not only could fireworks cause injuries, but they also start thousands of fires every year in the United States. ACHI says that fireworks were responsible for more than 31,000 fires across the country in 2022. That's a lot. Smokey The Bear wasn't kidding when he said only we can prevent forest fires. A lot of them are our fault.

How can you be safe on the 4th of July? ACHI recommends leaving the fireworks to the professionals. Go see a professional show or a fireworks display being put on by the city instead of doing it yourself. If you're going to do it yourself, make sure to do it carefully and follow all the rules. You can see some tips for fireworks safety from the NSC here.