With the upcoming holiday weekend, there’s no doubt people will be setting off fireworks in their own backyard, especially since many larger gatherings have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.


What You Need To Know


  • Legal and illegal fireworks can both cause serious burn injuries

  • Health experts say to keep distance when lighting fireworks and avoid large crowds

  • There has been an uptick in burn injuries at Upstate, those are caused by gasoline lit fires and alcohol use around fires

Health experts are urging people use caution this weekend, even around the legal fireworks being sold across the state.

“None of them are safe,” said SUNY Upstate Clark Burn Center Coordinator Tamara Roberts. “They may be legal, but they are not safe, and you have to take precautions.”

Fireworks have been the center of complaints the last few weeks, causing many disruptions in neighborhoods. However, the large amount of fireworks being set off hasn’t led to many burn injuries.

Still, the Clark Burn Center at Upstate is seeing nearly double the amount of patients as they did this time last year.

“People are just tossing gasoline to make bonfires go, or people are consuming alcohol and getting around bonfires. Alcohol and fires don’t mix a lot, and that’s how injuries happen,” said Roberts.

Health professionals say they’ve seen injuries from second-degree burns to burns that take months to heal. They say the injuries are preventable and likely caused by carelessness. 

“We really encourage people if they are going to be drinking, they should not be getting close to any type of a bonfire,” said Roberts.

Despite fewer injuries caused by fireworks, that could change during the holiday weekend.

When setting off legal fireworks, know that they can become very hot. Health professionals warn that metal sparklers can get as hot as 3,000 degrees.

“Keep distance when lighting them; don’t have large groups of people around. If you have kids around, make sure that they’re safe distances away, because even though they are fireworks that are on the ground, that are legal for us to do, they can still have accidents and injure people,” said Roberts.

To avoid sparkler injuries, place them in water after they burn out.