- Author
-
Hall, J. R., Jr.
- Title
- Fireworks.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM: NFPA One Stop Data Shop, 1 Batterymarch Park, P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, MA 02269-9101. Telephone: 617-984-7540, Fax: 617-984-7478, Email: osds@nfpa.org. Website: http://www.nfpa.org
- Keywords
-
fireworks accidents
|
injuries
|
death
|
fire statistics
|
NFIRS
|
nightclubs
|
nightclubs
- Identifiers
- size of fireworks problem; characteristics of injuries by fireworks; risks of private fireworks use; how national estimates are calculated; Station Nightclub (Concert), West Warwick, Rhode Island (RI), February 20, 2003
- Abstract
- In 2003, 9,300 fireworks-related were treated in a hospital emergency room. The trend in fireworks-related injuries has been up and down since 1996, with a net increase as of 2003. An unusually large number of injuries occurred in 2000, with most of the difference associated with New Year.s celebrations of the last year of the millennium. Injuries were higher in 1984-1995 than in recent years but lower in the mid- 1970s and earlier. In 2002, there were 3,000 reported structure or vehicle fires started by fireworks. This was the fourth consecutive year in which the total increased. These fires resulted in no reported civilian deaths, 60 civilian injuries, and $29 million in direct property damage. In 1997-2001, 8 people per year were killed in fires started by fireworks, while 7 people per year were killed directly by fireworks. In 2003, 100 people were killed in a Rhode Island nightclub fire ignited by the indoor use of pyrotechnics in a small, crowded room with wall linings that promoted rapid flame spread. The facility had no sprinkler protection. As in most years, the majority of victims of fireworks injuries in 2003 were under age 20. The highest injury rates were for children aged 5 to 9, whose relative risk compared to other age groups has been increasing in recent years. Males accounted for nearly threefourths (72%) of fireworks injuries. In 2003, five out of six (84%) emergency room fireworks injuries involved fireworks that Federal regulations permit consumers to use. The risk of fire death relative to exposure shows fireworks as the most risky consumer product.