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3 On Your Side: Firework Warning

By Jim Donovan

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Tomorrow is the fourth of July - a time for barbeques, backyard parties and of course, fireworks.  But as 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan reminds us, those brilliant symbols of our nation's birthday can also be very dangerous.

Thousands of people are injured by fireworks each year and experts say those injuries are preventable

"I thought for sure, I was going to have to get my eye taken out that night," says 19-year-old Jameson Lamb.  He knows first-hand the danger of fireworks.  Three years ago, he and his friends were setting off roman candles when something went wrong.  He says, "One of the roman shots ended up hitting me directly in the right eye."  The high school baseball star was blinded.  His was one of 8,700 fireworks-related injuries that year. Sixty percent of them occurred in the four weeks around the July fourth holiday.

"The eye injuries from fireworks can be very severe," says Dr. Anne Summers.  An ophthalmologist, she too knows the danger of fireworks, and not just to eyes.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says more than a forty percent of the time, arms and hands are injured.  One in five injuries involves the trunk or legs.  The remaining 38 percent, it's the head and eyes.  Overall, more than half of all injuries are burns, which is what caused part of the damage to Jameson Lamb's eye.  He says, "It really can happen to you, you're not immune from it."

Whenever you're handling fireworks, the CPSC advises having a bucket of water or hose nearby, and lighting fireworks one at a time before moving away quickly.  Also, never try to relight malfunctioning fireworks.

Last year more than 10,000 fireworks injuries were reported, about one-quarter of them were due to smaller items like bottle rockets and sparklers.  And if you don't think a sparkler can cause damage, think again.  A sparkler can burn at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit - that's hot enough to melt some metals.

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