Note: The video is from June 24.
After many public fireworks displays were cancelled last year, many towns and cities across the nation and in Central Pennsylvania will be hosting public fireworks events for the Fourth of July this year, according to the National Fire Prevention Association.
If you are planning on making fireworks part of your Fourth of July celebration, the NFPA strongly recommends attending these public shows rather than using consumer fireworks, which can cause serious injury and damage due to their unpredictability.
An estimated 19,500 fires in the US were started by fireworks in 2018, including 1,900 structure fires, 500 vehicle fires, and 17,100 outside and other fires, according to the NFPA. These fires caused five deaths and 46 injuries to civilians and $105 million in property damage.
Additionally, more than one-quarter (28 percent) of fireworks fires from 2014-18 occurred on the Fourth of July, the NFPA said. Approximately half (49 percent) of all fires reported on the Fourth of July are caused by fireworks, according to the NFPA.
Last year, an estimated 15,600 people were seen for fireworks-related injuries at hospital emergency departments, according to data collected by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This was the highest estimate seen in more than 15 years, the NFPA said.
For more facts and information about fireworks, visit NFPA’s fireworks page.