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(WJBK) - Celebrating with fireworks is best left up to the professionals, but if you're going to put on a display at home safety is key.
Doctor of pediatric emergency medicine Rajan Arora from Children's Hospital of Michigan joined us in studio to tell us more about fireworks safety. You can hear from him in the video lpayer above.
Every year almost 9,000 people are treated for fireworks-related injuries.
If you must set off fireworks at home, follow these simple rules:
- Always purchase fireworks from reputable sellers, and read and follow labeled directions.
- Light only one firework at a time.
- Never throw or point fireworks at other people.
- Never give fireworks to small children.
- Always have a bucket of water handy to extinguish anything that may have accidentally become ignited.
- Dispose of fireworks properly by soaking them in water and then depositing them into a trash can.
Remember fireworks are not toys, so an adult should always be present when fireworks are being used.
Sparklers are NOT SAFE for young children even though they are sold as a safe firework for children.
Sparklers present a silent danger. Sparklers do not blow up and they do not have trajectory but they do get very hot. A typical sparkler can burn at temperatures up to 1,800 degrees. Such temperatures can quickly start fires and at close range can burn skin and eyes. Think about it this way glass melts at temperatures starting at 1400 degrees, so imagine what a sparkler can do to skin. This is the most prevelant fire work injury we see at the Children's Hospital of Michigan during the 4th of July holiday.
Fireworks now legal to sell and use in Michigan include:
- Bottle rockets
- Sky rockets
- Reloadable shell devices
- Roman candles
- Firecrackers
- Missile-type rockets
- Helicopter/Aerial spinners
- Single tube device with report