Fireworks and the Fourth of July go together like peas and carrots. Unfortunately, the celebrations also can pair with trips to the doctor or emergency room.
University of Michigan emergency room physician Dr. Brad Uren said he has never had to treat a fireworks-related fatality, but he has seen a wide variety of burns and even some missing digits related to mishaps with combustible displays.
There were 11 deaths and about 10,500 hospital trips related to fireworks in the United States in 2014, according to the Consumer Protection Safety Commission. Nearly 70 percent of the injuries came during the one-month prime fireworks period between June 20 and July 20.
Uren said not all fireworks are bad, but that people tend to wrongly assume that because they're legal to use--in most municipalities, fireworks are legal at least on July 4 and one day on either side--they're perfectly safe.
"It's a mixed message," Uren said. "You can do it, but you have to be careful. And that second part isn't always emphasized as much as it needs to be."
A Walled Lake man died in a fireworks accident Sunday evening, and last year Detroit TV weatherman Dave Rexroth lost an eye in a fireworks accident.
The ideal situation is to have a hose or fire extinguisher near your backyard pyrotechnic display, but if that's not possible, you need at least a bucket.
Even with proper planning, care and execution, fireworks are still dangerous and things can go wrong. The most common injuries resulting when things do go wrong are burns, and those can sometimes be avoided by having water present.
Water is important to dispose of small pieces (sparklers, Roman Candles, etc.) as well as take care of any issues that might arise with duds or sparks causing fires that could spread and become dangerous.
Part of being careful is ensuring that the person setting of the fireworks is an adult who hasn't been drinking.
Uren said most home fireworks displays come after long days of celebrations that typically involve alcohol in one way or another. A non-sober fireworks display can be extremely dangerous to both the individual setting off the fireworks and any spectators in the vicinity.
"It's just like a designated driver," he said. "You wouldn't get into a car with someone who was drinking, so why would you let them set off explosives near you?"
Alcohol can also cloud decision making, making it less likely that the remainder of these tips would be adhered to.
The first step in purchasing fireworks is to ensure they come with instructions. If the items you are looking at (or already bought) don't tell you how to light them, it means they're probably unsafe.
"The two cases where they would not have instructions are if they're made by amateurs or made for professionals to be using," Uren said. "It's important to buy from a reputable dealer and not buy something that's out of your league to set off."
Once you've established that there are instructions, it's important to follow them. Freelancing with fireworks is a bad idea and can lead to more dangerous experience. It's especially important to take care that you are never putting yourself in the path of the firework once it's lit. Make sure it's facing away from any spectators and that you don't have to go over or in front of the firework to clear the area.
Also, while it's common to create "bottle rockets," Uren said that many injuries result from the explosives slipping into the bottle or can, which then becomes added shrapnel if something goes wrong.
One ignored instruction that leads to a high number of ER trips is to let a sleeping dog (read: firework) lie.
If you attempt to set off a firework and it doesn't deploy properly, the last thing you should do is immediately approach the malfunctioning pyrotechnic.
Perhaps most importantly, NEVER NEVER NEVER look into a tube to check if the fuse is still lit.
If a firework does not explode, it's recommended to wait for 20 minutes before approaching the dud. When you do, douse the firework in water before handling and then dispose of the misbehaving mortar or sizzler.
Under no circumstances should you attempt to relight a firework that did not explode the first time. You're going to have a bad time.
Every year, more than 10 percent of fireworks injuries are related to sparklers. In 2014 it was 13 percent (1,400 injuries) and Uren said that number has been as high as 19 percent of all injuries.
"People don't think they're dangers, they think they can just give them to kids to play with," he said.
"But they burn at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I know we all remember playing with them. I played with them when I was a kid, but there has to be supervision and people have to be careful."
In June 2014, a 19-year-old female from Connecticut died when a sparkler was thrown into her house by her brother's friend and started a fire.
They may look harmless, but for children under 5, sparklers were the cause of more than 60 percent of fireworks-related injuries. So celebrate independence, but also celebrate safety. Don't let your toddler play with that sparkler, and everyone will have a much happier Fourth of July.
Ben Freed is a general assignments reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at benfreed@mlive.com and follow him on twitter at @BFreedinA2. He also answers the phone at 734-623-2528.