Homemade Fireworks Can Kill 4th of July Fun

In 2007, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 9,800 people for fireworks related injuries.

• 56 percent of 2007 emergency room fireworks-related injuries were to the extremities and 36 percent were to the head.

• 49 percent of the 2007 fireworks injuries were burns, while 29 percent were contusions and lacerations.

• Two of five people injured by fireworks were under the age of 15.

• The risk of fireworks injury was two times as high for children ages 5-14 as for the general population.

• Sparklers, fountains, and novelties alone accounted for 56 percent of the emergency room fireworks injuries in 2007.

Fourth of July and fireworks go hand-in-hand but officials are once again warning people about homemade fireworks. Today the Monroe County Bomb Squad held a fireworks demonstration to show the danger of homemade fireworks.

Mark Jenis with the bomb squad says homemade explosives are more dangerous than a commercial firecracker, and if you're caught with one, you'll be charged with a felony. “The misconception is that these are nothing more than a big firework type of thing when in actuality these are home made.”

Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn said, “Without a doubt, we end up having reports to the hospital - people sustaining some type of serious injuries.”