Dangers of fireworks: How to stay safe this Fourth of July
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A faulty firework forever changed a young woman's life in Cheswick.
Amanda Fischer is 27 years old now, but she forever lives with the memory of her childhood.
"The fireworks were going," she said. "We were all sitting and watching and there was a bad six-pack. Three went up. One hit our house, and one hit me and the last one went up again."
Fischer's father shot fireworks off in the backyard for every family picnic, but his experience could not help in this situation.
"My family didn't do anything wrong, and that's something people always think," Fischer said. "We did it safely, everyone was watching. There was nothing wrong. It was a bad firework."
Last year, fireworks injured 1,300 people nationally and sparklers hurt 600. Seventy-four percent of the injuries happened around the Fourth of July.
"I didn't even get to go back to school that year," Fischer said. "I couldn't be around kids the rest of the summer because it's too dangerous because you can get infected very easily. Once I did get to go back to school, I no longer had my arms wrapped up, but I had to wear compression garments for two years."
Dr. Ariel Aballay, the medical director of the West Penn Burn Unit at Allegheny Health Network, does not want to see anyone in his clinic.
"On a daily basis, these wounds need to be cleaned of dead skin, fluids, bacteria," Aballay said.
In Pennsylvania, injuries doubled between 2019 and 2020. In that same period of time, sales of fireworks in the state increased by 300 percent.
That is why Aballay and AHN teamed up with Pittsburgh firefighters and the Burn Prevention Unit to display safe and fun alternatives for kids.
"You don't really know what you're buying sometimes," Fischer said. "Let's just keep it to the professionals this year. Let's go Downtown and watch a really great display and there's no need to do it in your backyard."
Pittsburgh's fire chief wants city residents to know under city guidelines, fireworks are illegal in most parts of the city because of logistics.
"The reason they're illegal is because you can't light a firework within 150 feet of a structure," Chief Daryl Jones said. "Pretty hard to find a spot in the city where that doesn't apply. In addition, you must not use them in any of the public spaces."
