Focus on Fire Safety

Summer Fire Safety: Fireworks and Outdoor Cooking Fire Safety

Every year Americans look forward to summer vacations, camping, family reunions, picnics, and the Fourth of July. Summertime, however, also brings fires and injuries due to fireworks and outdoor cooking. Annually, just under 10,000 Americans are injured by fireworks and almost 5,000 are injured by charcoal/wood-burning and propane grill fires. Summertime should be a time of fun and making happy memories. Knowing a few fire safety tips and following safety instructions will help everyone have a safe summer.

Fireworks

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there were 11 deaths associated with fireworks during 2007. Fireworks were involved in an estimated 9,800 injuries during the 2007 calendar year, with an estimated 6,300 fireworks-related injuries treated during the one month period between June 22 and July 22, 2007. Children under 15 suffered about 42% of the estimated injuries.

Dr. Gary Smith, Director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Columbus Children's Research Institute in Ohio conducted a 22-year study of fireworks injuries treated in emergency rooms.

He found that:

• 67% of sparkler-related injuries were among children 5 years or younger
• 70% of patients treated for all fireworks injuries were male
• Adult supervision was present in 54% of the cases
• The eyes were injured in nearly one-third of the cases
• The average age of patients was 8½ years

Source: Home Safety Council