Shooting off fireworks for the Fourth of July? Here's some safety tips.
BALTIMORE -- It's common for doctors to see firework burns on the Fourth of July.
But oftentimes, children are the victims who are rushed to the emergency room.
Sometimes fireworks can misfire, blow up in someone's hand, or injure their eye.
Dr. Erica Hodgman from Johns Hopkins Children's Center said there are many cases where handheld sparklers get too close to a person's clothing and leave behind burns on their bodies.
This could mean months of skin grafts and treatment for patients in the burn program.
About 9,700 people across the nation were treated in the ER for firework injuries just last year. Eight people died.
That's according to a new report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Dr. Hodgman said there are some handheld sparklers that can reach up to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, which is like giving your child a welding torch.
"Even if you have hidden them away, we see kids climb up in the closet, they find them and set them off when the parents are not around," Dr. Hodgman said. "We encourage people to not do fireworks at all. Just go see a professional display. Give your kids glow sticks. It's so much safer."
Similar to the national statistics, Baltimore County firefighters notice that many of the victims of these emergencies are teens between 15 and 19 years old.
And children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old rank second for burn injuries.
Therefore, the department advises people to never light sparklers or fireworks inside a building or a home.
"Make sure it's not close to your clothing," Baltimore County Fire Department Bureau Chief Travis Francis said. "Make sure sparklers are not close to anything flammable. A lot of times, we see them at birthday parties. But you never know... a napkin, a tablecloth, any small flammable object could create an emergency for you."
Illegal fireworks can be extremely dangerous.
Francis suggests that when you go to a store, a tent or any pop-up stand to buy fireworks, ask the owner for their fire permit.
Each business should have one, which means the local fire department approved those fireworks and they are safe to purchase.