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Firework Injuries Low For Valley

WHEELING – When it comes to fireworks-related injuries, most people believe they occur when people light large, expensive and illegal-to-use explosives.

But according to the National Fire Protection Association, most injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms are caused by legal consumer fireworks, such as sparklers. On Independence Day, Wheeling Hospital treated two people injured by fireworks; both were released after treatment, said spokesman Gregg Warren.

“We had an adult with an eye injury. … A mortar exploded in his face,” Warren said.

The other patient was a 1-year-old who suffered a hand burn from a sparkler.

“The child was not holding the sparkler, (but) had touched it,” Warren added.

According to the NFPA, a cake can bake at 350 degrees and glass melts at 900 degrees Fahrenheit. In comparison, a sparkler can reach 1,200 degrees. Fire safety experts recommend that those who use fireworks, including sparklers, dispose of them in a bucket of water afterward to prevent children from getting burned.

Trinity Medical Center of Steubenville spokesman Keith Murdock said his hospital’s emergency room did not treat any fireworks-related injuries Thursday. Neither Ohio Valley Medical Center nor East Ohio Regional Hospital treated patients with fireworks injuries, said spokeswoman Laurie Labishak. Wetzel County Hospital also did not treat anyone for injuries related to fireworks, said Shannon Smith, director of nursing at WCH. Weirton Medical Center officials could not be reached for comment.

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