Eight local residents, including two children, were treated for fireworks-related injuries at Erlanger emergency rooms over the July fourth holiday. One adult suffered from a partial hand amputation and the two children were treated for burns to their cheeks, according to Erlanger emergency medicine officials.
Two adults required emergency care for eye injuries, including a corneal abrasion and corneal burn caused by explosives. The other three adults were treated at Erlanger’s downtown hospital and Erlanger East Hospital emergency rooms for facial burns and lacerations, in addition to wrist and open hand fractures.
This is the highest number of firework-related injuries treated at Erlanger’s ERs in the past five years. Four adults, but no children, were treated for fireworks injuries at Erlanger last year; four in 2013; only one in 2012 and five in 2011.
This year’s fireworks-related injuries at Erlanger were tracked from Thursday through Monday.
Coy Ellis, coordinator of the Safe and Sound injury prevention program at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, cautioned that 70 percent of fireworks injuries occur between June 20 and July 20.
“We hope all the warnings we issued last week, along with local law enforcement and fire officials – combined with these latest statistics – will be taken seriously in the coming weeks,” Mr. Ellis said.