Consumer-Grade Fireworks: Unsafe for the General Public

Amid the pandemic and social justice issues that dominate our current news, the Ohio Legislature continues to grind forward on many other less visible topics. 

Some of these smaller issues also have direct health consequences. For example, for the 3rd time in recent memory, legislation (HB 172) to extend the use of consumer-grade fireworks to the general public is back before the General Assembly.

In  2020 during the previous General Assembly, a similar bill almost passed - both the House and Senate approved similar versions, but a final agreement to reconcile the bills and vote was never held.

The bill gives latitude for local municipalities to restrict and/or ban the use of fireworks in their communities. For example, Columbus could allow fireworks 24/7 365, and Upper Arlington could allow just the 4th of July. Imagine enforcing this law.

The underlying driving force for the passage of this bill is twofold. One is the very influential national firework industry. The other force is the Ohio Legislature’s strong drive to protect individual freedoms (freedom to not wear a motorcycle helmet, or not requiring bicycle helmets).

How dangerous are consumer-grade fireworks? These fireworks contain up to 500 milligrams of gunpowder. These are fireworks like bottle rockets, skyrockets, missiles, flares, and Roman candles.  According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2017 Fireworks Report, fireworks were responsible for approximately 12,900 injuries treated at hospital emergency rooms that year; the report also attributed eight fatalities to fireworks discharge. Of all emergency room patients suffering from injuries caused by fireworks, nearly half are innocent bystanders, and more than one-third are children under the age of 15.

In addition to injuries, fireworks also cause property damage such as house and brush fires. Another group impacted by firework discharge are veterans with PTSD and as our number of PTSD vets increases, this is not a small problem.  Also affected by the expansion of firework discharge would be our dog population.  Many dogs are negatively influenced by firework discharge. This would now be expanded throughout the year, not just the Fourth of July.

Compared with the nation, Ohio’s emergency rooms see far fewer children with permanent eye injuries and missing fingers due to fireworks. The reason for Ohio’s advantage: our state has had a longstanding prohibition on the discharge of commercial-grade fireworks. The reason many other states are failing their children: they’ve succumbed to the fireworks industry’s all-out campaign to liberalize state laws on fireworks. As states relaxed laws related to fireworks sales during the past decade, emergency doctors saw an increase in both the number of fireworks-related injuries among children and the severity of those injuries. If it’s approved in its current form, 47 states would have safer fireworks laws than Ohio. 

Working on an issue for nearly a decade can be tedious, but this bill is an example of the need to be both vigilant and determined to involved for the long haul. 

No individual physician can do this work alone over such a period of time. The Ohio Fireworks Safety Coalition composed of nearly 50 groups, including all of the state’s leading medical, health and insurance organizations has been a constant force in this battle.

Passage of HB 172 would result in a statewide declaration that fireworks are not dangerous; the statistics, and the perspective of this physician, say otherwise.