OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Every year, thousands of people are rushed to the emergency room with burns they suffer while lighting fireworks. And kids are most susceptible to getting hurt.
Many parents out there — myself included — tend to light a sparkler, hand it off to their child and let them run and play with it. But these things burn at 1,200 degrees, and if your child should touch them — or be touched with them — it could cause serious damage.
Every year, the Olathe Fire Department demonstrates the dangers of sparklers by putting one against a raw hot dog. You can see the black burn mark it leaves behind. Medical workers say over the next four days, they will treat more than 10,000 people for burns caused by fireworks. And the majority of those injuries are from sparklers.
“They’re very hot and can cause a severe burn in less than one second,” Captain Mike Hall said. “Many times we like to hand them off to the children because the children enjoy them. ”
The National Council on Fireworks Safety suggests these tips:
–Never hand your child a sparkler. Give them an unlit one, then light it.
–Stand at least six feet away from another person.
–Keep them away from clothes since the sparks can catch your clothes on fire.
–When they go out, put them in water right away, since they stay hot for minutes after they go out.
If you keep these tips in mind, hopefully your child will not be burned. Besides sparklers, a lot of injuries also occur from shells.
See also: GoPro cam captures amazing firework display via drone
