TFC WANTS A SAFE JULY 4TH

The NFPA and Trevose Fire Company would like to share some statistics with you. In 2005 10800 people were treated at hospital emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries. More than half 54 of 2005 fireworks injuries were burns. Contusions and lacerations were second 29 and were twice as common as burns when the injury was to any part of the head or face including the eye. Hands or fingers were the part of the body injured in 30 of the incidents. In 24 of the cases the eye was involved other parts of the face or head accounted for 20 of the injuries. The highest risks of fireworks injury are to school-age children. In 2005 nearly half of the people injured by fireworks were under the age of 15. The highest injury rate relative to population was for ages 10-14 with nearly 3 times the risk of the entire population. Males accounted for nearly 7 out of every 10 69 fireworks injuries. Based on the amount of time and quantities in use fireworks pose a higher risk of fire death than any other consumer product. Although cigarettes are the leading cause of fire death the risk that someone will die from fire when fireworks are being used is higher relative to the corresponding risk when cigarettes are burning. On Independence Day in a typical year more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day and fireworks account for half of those fires more than any other cause of fires.