Fireworks

It is predicted that this year 500 children and their families will join the growing number of people who will remember bonfire night for the wrong reasons. They will have been injured as a result of an accident with fireworks.

• The vast majority of injuries are to the eyes, head or hands – so children will have visible scars for life;
• Most injuries happen at private or family displays;
• Rocket, air bomb and sparkler incidents are the most common;
• Over 550 children under 16 are taken to A&E in the four weeks surrounding bonfire night alone;
• Many more boys than girls are injured by fireworks – especially boys aged 12 to 15 years.

Sparklers are often seen as a relatively harmless way of allowing very young children to participate in the thrill of fireworks night – THIS IS NOT TRUE – a sparkler can reach temperatures of 20 times the boiling point of water.

Never give sparklers to children under the age of five. Make sure that older children wear gloves, hold the sparkler at arms length and ALWAYS have a bucket of water nearby to put the used sparklers in – hot end down.

Before they explode read the code! Read the Child Accident Prevention Trust’s advice for staying safe around fireworks.