| Today's Feature
The Dangers
of Fireworks.
by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Fireworks are enjoyable and
exciting to watch, but each year they injure
thousands of people, many of them children, and
cause thou-sands of fires. Federal and state laws
prohibit the sale of certain types of fireworks,
but even those that are legal can be dangerous.
For example, sparklers, which are legal in the
majority of states, burn at temperatures of
approximately 2,000o F.
To prevent injuries and
property loss from fireworks, the federal
government has banned the sale of the most
dangerous types (Class B fireworks). These
include M–80s, cherry bombs, firecrackers
containing more than 50 milligrams of black
powder, and mail order kits for building
fireworks. Working with the U.S. Customs Office,
the Consumer Product Safety Commission has seized
nearly 400 million pounds of illegal fireworks at
U.S. docks since 1988.
Studies have suggested that
state laws regulating the sale of fireworks
directly affect the occurrence of
fireworks-related injuries. In one state, the
number of injuries seen in emergency departments
more than doubled following the legalization of
fireworks.
An estimated 8,500 people
sought treatment for fireworks-related injuries
in 1998. Forty-five per-cent of those were
children under the age of 15. Further, fireworks
caused 13 fatalities.
Despite the increasing
consumption of fire-works over the last decade,
fireworks injuries have actually decreased. This
trend is possibly due to the increasing
popularity of large, professionally executed
public fireworks displays, which use thousands of
pounds of fireworks and rarely cause injuries.
Despite this downward trend,
fireworks remain dangerous. Each year, newspapers
report numerous instances of people injured or
killed by fireworks. Examples include:
• On July 6, 2000, a man
was killed while launching powerful,
professional-caliber rockets near a friend’s
home. He apparently leaned over the rocket when
it did not immediately launch and was struck in
the head when the rocket fired several seconds
later.
• In a similar accident, a
New York man was killed when he peered into the
mouth of a launch tube for an aerial bomb. When
the charge initially failed to fire, he looked
inside the mortar tube and was nearly decapitated
when the charge went off several seconds later.
• In Colorado, a 10-inch
mortar shell thought to be a dud exploded after a
fireworks display had concluded. Six firefighters
standing nearby were taken to the hospital for
hearing tests.
• In Iowa, a teenager was
killed and five were injured when fire-works
thrown from their sport util-ity vehicle blew
back into the vehicle, causing a fire and a
crash.
Of injuries caused by
fireworks:
•70 to 75% occur during a
30-day period surrounding July 4 (June 23–
July 23)
•Seven out of 100 persons
injured require hospitalization
•Males are three times
more likely than females to be injured
• Boys between the ages of
10 and 14 have the highest rates of injury
• Common injuries are to
the hands (34%), face (12%), and eyes (17%).
The following discussion is
based on a 3-year average using 1996–98
National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)
data and reflects injuries, fatalities, and fire
loss associated with fires caused by
fireworks, which are different from the figures
presented earlier that reflect injuries,
fatalities, and prop-erty loss caused directly
by fireworks. Fireworks fires cause
approximately $15 million in property loss,
injure 50, and kill 15 annu-ally. Most fires are
clustered around Independence Day, New
Year’s Eve, and other holidays or
celebrations. Fifty-seven percent of fires caused
by fireworks occur in July, and nearly 20% occur
on July 4 .
Given the high number of
children injured by fireworks, it is not
surprising that the most common ignition factor
for fires related to fireworks is children
playing with or otherwise misusing fireworks.
Casualties from fireworks fires are somewhat less
than those from all fires, and property loss is
significantly less because most fireworks fires
are outside fires with lower dollar value than
structure fires.
In addition to civilian
injuries, fireworks fires are also deadly to
firefighters. For example, in separate 1998
incidents in Alabama and Oklahoma, two
firefighters were killed as a result of fires
caused by fireworks. Because fireworks can be
dangerous and deadly, the safest way to enjoy
them is through public displays conducted by
professional pyrotechnicians hired by
commu-nities over July 4 or at other times during
the year.
FIREWORK
FINDINGS
• Fireworks
were the cause of 13 fatalities, 8,500 injuries,
7,000 fires, and $40 million in
property loss in 1998.
• State laws
regulating the sale of fireworks have a direct
impact on the incidence of loss. More stringent
laws have been respon-sible for a
decrease in injuries in the last decade —
from a high of 12,100 in 1990 to a low of 7,800
in 1996.
• 70-75% of
fireworks injuries occur during a 30-day period
(June 23-July 23). In addition to Independence
Day, other peak periods for injuries are New
Year’s Eve and other holidays.
• 45% of
fireworks injuries are to children under the age
of 15. Males are three times more likely than
females to be injured.
NASCAR
to the Max
Sterling Marlin claimed the win
in last Sunday’s UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400
from Las Vegas, NV. Marlin had been in contention
for a win the past two weeks but handling
problems late in the race last week and a penalty
with less than five laps to go the week before at
Daytona had kept him from the winners circle.
Near the halfway point of Sunday’s race,
Marlin’s chances to win appeared to be in
jeopardy. As he was attempting to enter the pits
for a routine stop, Jerry Nadeau bumped him from
behind. The contact sent him spinning toward the
pit lane. Marlin managed to control the car but
exceeded the speed limit down pit road which
usually results in the driver being held an
additional 15 seconds in the pits. The NASCAR
official assigned to Marlin’s pit never
received the message to hold Marlin for the
penalty and NASCAR felt bringing him back in to
serve his penalty was too harsh. The race was
slowed by 6 caution periods for 25 laps. The
first caution was brought out when Bobby Hamilton
spun into the outside wall demolishing his car,
relegating him to a last place finish of the 43
starters. Prior to this Did Not Finish (DNF)
designation, Hamilton had been running at the end
of the previous 40 races and held the longest
current streak of no DNF’s.
The team’s now head back
east across the country for Sunday’s race at
Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, GA. The
1.54-mile, high-banked oval track boasts of being
the fastest track on the circuit. Qualifying
speeds are usually in the low 190-mph range with
race speeds approaching 200 mph. Last year’s
Rookie-of-the-Year Kevin Harvick won this race
last year but will be challenged by previous
winners Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte who should
be among the 43 starters. If Ricky Rudd qualifies
for Sunday’s race, it will be his 648th consecutive
start and would tie him for second place all time
with the late Dale Earnhardt. Ironman Terry
Labonte holds the record for most consecutive
starts at 655.
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