Twenty-one health and fire safety advocacy organizations came together to urge consumers not to use fireworks, including sparklers, this Independence Day holiday because of the injuries and damage they cause.

Each year, most people injured by consumer fireworks are children and teens. While the fireworks causing these injuries are legal in the vast majority of states, they can often lead to severe burns, scars and disfigurement.

"Every year consumer fireworks injure and maim our children," said James M. Shannon, president and CEO of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, founded the alliance of health and safety organizations three years ago. "Consumer fireworks are a significant public safety concern shared by doctors, nurses, other health care professionals, and members of the fire service."

The alliance held a press conference today in the nation's capital to drive home the safety message and to urge consumers instead to attend public displays of fireworks orchestrated by trained professionals.

Members of the alliance include: American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Hand Surgery, American Association of Public Health Physicians, American Burn Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Emergency Nurses Association, Fire Department Safety Officers Association, International Association of Arson Investigators, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, International Fire Marshals Association, Metropolitan Fire Chiefs, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Association of School Nurses, National Association of State Fire Marshals, National Fire Protection Association, National Volunteer Fire Council and Prevent Blindness America.

The group also released the following snapshot of the destruction caused by consumer fireworks.

Injuries: In the year 2003, five out of six (84%) of the 9,300 fireworks injuries reported to emergency departments involved fireworks that federal regulations permit consumers to use (formerly known as Class C fireworks). Total injuries were up from 8,800 from 2002. More than one-third (38%) of the 2003 fireworks injuries that presented in emergency departments were to the head, and half (51%) were to the extremities. About 20% of injuries involved the eyes. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of all injuries were burns.

Sixty percent of those injured were age 19 or younger. The highest risk of fireworks injury was to children, ages 5-9, whose risk in 2003 was nine times the all-age risk; in most other years, children ages 10-14 had the highest risk. Males accounted for nearly three-fourths (72%) of fireworks injuries.

Fires: In the year 2002, the latest year for which national fireworks- related fire statistics are available, fire departments responded to an estimated 3,000 structure and vehicle fires started by fireworks. Outdoor fires, however, can no longer be sorted by cause, as a result of fire coding changes beginning in 1999. But traditionally, on the Independence Day holiday, fireworks cause more fires in the U.S. than all other causes of fire on that day combined.

In the year 2002, fires started by fireworks caused $28 million in property damage to structures and vehicles.

Laws: There are currently only six states that ban all consumer fireworks. They are: Arizona, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. When the health and safety alliance was formed three years ago, there were 10 states that banned all consumer fireworks.

The estimated injury risk from legal fireworks was 14 times as high in the states that permitted sparklers and novelties compared to the full-ban states. In states that permit most or all consumer fireworks, the estimated injury risk was 57 times as high compared to states that ban the use of all consumer fireworks.

It is very difficult to enforce restrictions on fireworks use through state laws because residents of a state that prohibits fireworks can often cross a state border to buy the devices. Every year, for example, people from Massachusetts drive into neighboring New Hampshire to buy fireworks from retail stands that set up near the border.

About Prevent Blindness America
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness America is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness America touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, divisions and chapters, Prevent Blindness America is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in the United States. For more information, or to make a contribution to the sight-saving fund, call 1-800-331-2020.

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