University Daily Kansan, July 3, 1985
Page 14
Hints for harmless holiday
Care defuses firework fear
By Jill Ovens
Staff Reporter
Even the seemingly harmless sparkler can cause injuries to children, two Lawrence physicians said Friday.
"Children pick them up while they're still hot and burn their hands," he said.
Chas Loveland, a pediatrician, said sparkler wines retained from for several minutes after the sparkles stopped, potentially leading to burns.
The heated wires also can cause severe eye injuries, said Richard Orchard, an ophthalmologist.
"A particle from the sparkler could become embedded in the eye," Orchard said, "but it would be more伤到 the wire to accidentally hit the eye."
Orchard said bottle rockets used to cause most of the eye injuries caused by fireworks until they were banned four years ago
"I didn't see any injuries last year at all," he said. "Five or six years ago, I would see half a dozen kids with injuries caused by bottle rockets."
Loveland said firecrackers had less powder in them than they once had but still could cause significant exposed skin, especially to the hand.
"An incredible number of children light firecrackers in their hands and then throw them," he said. "They should be on the ground when lit."
Loveland said he usually received a few calls during the July 4 holiday
"We have more problems with fires on the fifth, sixth and seventh with kids shooting off fireworks when their parents have gone back to work and the kids aren't being supervised as closely. They get ones that didn't ignite and they try to light them, or they tear them apart and end up hurt or with a fire."
—Gene Tucker
Chairman of the Kansas Fireworks Safety Committee
about slight injuries caused by fireworks.
"I'm always grateful when we get through July 4 without significant injuries." he said.
Two people with injuries caused by fireworks were treated at Lawrence Memorial Hospital last July 4, said Amy Bussard, a community affairs at the hospital.
One of the injuries was serious, and the man, in his early 20s, was admitted to the University of Kansas Medical Center, she said.
Heffey said that in the other case, a 19-year-old youth was treated and died.
Fireworks carelessly used also can endanger life and property because of potential fire hazards, two state fire officials said.
Karl McNorton, manager of the Kansas Fire Information System, said Kansas fire departments responded to more than 200 fires caused by fireworks from June 27 to July 5 last year.
McNorton said grass and brush fires were the most common result of the careless use of fireworks, but most of the serious damage in terms of property loss occurred in large metropolitan areas.
The chairman of the Kansas Fireworks Safety Committee said he was working to keep fireworks safe and prevent a state didn't ban them completely.
Gene Tucker, chairman of the committee and Montgomery County fire marshal, said he evaluated new fireworks for the safety committee, which he was mainly a group of wholesale fireworks dealers.
He said he had been testing rockets available on the market that resembled the bottle rockets banned in Kansas in 1981.
"They're too close of a reproduction," he said. "They use a heavier stick. They're more expensive and larger than the bottle rockets were. But they could be just as dangerous." Referring to the wholesale dealers
group, he said, "I'm going to recommend that the association goes ahead and doesn't sell any of them in the future."
Tucker said people should buy fireworks only from reliable dealers and never should experiment with homemade fireworks.
Children should always have an adult present when playing with fireworks and young children should not handle them at all, he said.
"We have more problems with fires on the fifth, sixth and seventh with kids shooting off fireworks when their parents have gone back to work and the kids aren't being supervised as closely, they get ones lingered tighter and they to light them, or they tear them apart and end up hurt or with a fire."
Always read the directions on the label, Tucker said, and ignite fireworks outdoors, well away from buildings or dry grass.
Tucker said fireworks never should be ignited in glass or metal containers. Also, never point or throw fireworks at a person or car, he said.
Roma Tesch, manager of the Lawrence Humane Society animal shelter 18.05 E 19Ht, said people work at animals, especially cats.
"People should watch out for ornery kids," she said.
Tesch also said animal owners should put identification tags on their pets in case the animals were denied by fireworks and ran away.
She also said animals should be kept inside, away from fireworks
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