BOTTLE ROCKETS WORST CULPRITS AMONG DANGEROUS FIREWORKS

Each year thousands of people throughout the United States are injured by fireworks.

The highest risk group for fireworks injuries are 13- to 15-year-old boys, said Rich Paul, executive director for the Missouri Ophthalmological Society, headquartered at Blue Springs. "Fireworks are not toys for children to play with," he said.

In 1994, more than 12,600 people across the nation suffered injuries from fireworks serious enough to require a visit to a hospital emergency room.

Pat Pennington, manager of emergency services at Southeast Missouri Hospital, and Wanda Brown, director of emergency services at St. Francis Medical Center and co-chairman for the Cape Girardeau Area Safe Kids Coalition, see some of these injuries.

"We have some injuries every year," Brown said, "and, we usually see one or two children with serious injuries."

Many of the injuries result from children, or adults, holding firecrackers when they go off.

In some cases, Pennington said, there are some minor hand burns when smaller children pick up sparklers before they cool off.

Pennington and Brown urge parents to keep watch over young children.

"I would encourage parents to ban all firecrackers for children, and especially bottle rockets," Pennington said.

Brown and Pennington agree the majority of injuries come from the use of bottle rockets.

Bottle rocket injury statistics are scary.

Some 83 percent of all serious fireworks injuries are from bottle rockets, according to a survey conducted for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the U.S. Eye Injury Registry.

"With their erratic, uncontrolled flight patterns, bystanders are especially at risk," Paul said. "In fact, 70 percent of bottle rocket injuries are to bystanders."

Many younger people like to have bottle rocket fights, but what usually ends up happening is that someone eventually gets hit in the head, or eye.

"The bottle rockets travel at such a high rate of speed, that the impact alone could hurt someone," Paul said.

The smaller bottle rockets can travel at speeds between 35 and 75 miles an hour, and the larger ones can reach speeds of up to 200 mph.

One Missouri legislator, Rep. Don Koller, D-Summersville, introduced a bill during the recent session to ban the use of bottle rockets.

"We were fully behind that bill," Paul said. "It didn't go anywhere this year, but maybe we can try again next year."

A recent survey in Illinois shows fireworks eye injuries were up in 1994, although overall fireworks injuries were down.

Most fireworks are illegal in Illinois unless authorized by local jurisdiction permits for supervised public displays.

The term fireworks, however, does not include sparklers, smoke devices, snake and glow worm pellets. Even these seemingly harmless items can be dangerous.

Sparklers, for example, can reach temperatures of up to 1,800 degrees and remain hot enough to cause burns even after they are extinguished.

Burns and cornea abrasions were the most common eye injuries, nationally, followed by hyphema, inflammation, and lacerations. Again, bottle rockets were the culprits in more than 80 percent of eye injuries.

Another common injury hospitals treat this time of year is burns caused by fireworks discharging too close to clothes, skin or hair.

"You have to be very careful with anything that has gunpowder in it or is a projectile," Paul said. "We urge parents to follow the instructions on the labels of the fireworks for proper use."

People aren't all that can be burned by fireworks.

Two years ago, a bottle rocket caused a house fire in Cape Girardeau, and a year ago, fireworks created a garage fire.

Fireworks injury at a glance

Who is injured?

80 percent under 19 years old

77 percent are males

71 percent are bystanders

When injuries occur

57 percent Independence Day

39 percent New Year's Eve

Fireworks causing injury

83 percent, bottle rockets

8 percent, firecrackers

6 percent, other rockets

4 percent, other fireworks

Serious injuries

44 percent result in blindness

10 percent result in removal of an eye.

Fireworks safety guidelines.

Purchase fireworks from a reliable dealer, with the "C" classification printed on the outside.

Don't purchase fireworks unless the name and address of the company is printed on the packaging.

Read the instructions printed on the package before discharging any fireworks.

Discharge fireworks one at a time.

Don't try to relight fireworks that fail to discharge.

Avoid fireworks that look like they have been wet and then dried.

Avoid any explosive with a loose fuse.

Don't stand directly over fireworks, especially projectiles, when igniting the fuse.

Don't hold fireworks in your hands when igniting the wicks.

Step away from fireworks quickly after igniting the fuse.

Never shoot fireworks at someone else or at stationary or moving objects.

Stay clear of buildings and vehicles when discharging fireworks.