Fireworks injuries were way up last year. How to protect yourself this year.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published its annual report showing a 38% increase in deaths and a 52% increase in injuries last year over the totals reported in 2023. Adults ages 25 to 44 made up 32% of the total injuries, followed by people ages 15 to 24 (24%).
'Behind these numbers are real people, real families ‒ and often, preventable incidents,' CPSC Acting Chairman Peter Feldman said in a statement. 'Fireworks injuries don't just happen on the Fourth of July. We urge everyone to celebrate responsibly ‒ because safety must always come first.'
Fireworks present dangers of physical injury, particularly to the hands and face, and environmental concerns in drier areas of the country.
Stressed out: How to keep your pets calm during Fourth of July fireworks
Alternatives to fireworks: Drone light shows turn night skies into a canvas. Why you don't want to miss them
How many people were injured or killed by fireworks in 2024?
Last year, fireworks accounted for more than 14,700 injuries, roughly 20% of which required hospitalization. Of the total injuries, roughly 1,700 were burns resulting from the use of sparklers.
The spike in 2024 abruptly halted what had been a three-year decline in the number of reported fireworks injuries but still fell short of the record 15,600 injuries recorded in 2020 at the height of lockdowns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the 11 deaths that occurred in 2024, all were said to have followed either misuse of fireworks or malfunctions. At least four of the fatalities were attributed to victims reportedly placing mortars on top of their heads.
What body parts are commonly injured by fireworks?
In the 2024 study period, which ran from June 16 to July 16, hand and finger injuries made up 36% of total fireworks injuries, but more than half of the 3,171 injuries that resulted in emergency room visits. Injuries above the shoulders ‒ eyes, ears, face and head ‒ accounted for a combined 37% of total injuries but less than a quarter (22%) of the injuries that required hospitalization.
U.S. fireworks sales, 1998 to 2024
According to figures from the American Pyrotechnics Association, U.S. spending on consumer-grade fireworks remained at $2.2 billion last year, while spending on professional display fireworks continued growth from the 2020 low caused by the pandemic when public gatherings were limited.
SOURCES 2024 Fireworks Annual Report, The American Fireworks Standards Laboratory; National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; American Pyrotechnics Association
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What better way to honor that nation than to keep it peaceful and clean? Write to Jeffrey Kluger at
