With Fourth of July comes surge in fireworks injuries; doctor urge caution and care
About 13,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries in 2025, and with America's 250 birthday celebration about to start, doctors worry even more people could get hurt this year.
Isabella Longoria was badly injured by a sparkler 15 years ago when she was a child.
"I still get nightmares to this day about it," she said. "We had an arm's length out and you would think, like, it's safe, because, you know, it's over there, and somehow a spark had caught onto my dress and the whole thing went up."
A single sparkler set fire to her polyester dress. By the time her family was able to put out the flames, the 5-year-old's back and legs were covered in third-degree burns.
"I was in o much pain. I was embarrassed. I was ashamed. I thought it was my fault," Longoria said.
She said her scars a constant reminder of the painful recovery she endured as a child, and the reason she's now dedicated to teaching others about fireworks safety as an adult.
Orthopedic trauma and spine surgeon Dr. Dan Ivankovich said some of the most common Fourth of July fireworks can have produced some of the worst injuries he's ever treated.
He said the small firecrackers that are strung together all get lit when you light one, and can be dangerous to small children's hands. Other fireworks kids will light and shoot at each other, and Roman Candles can cause severe burns, he said.
"You'd be shocked how many people lose fingers, devitalize their hand, have severe burns that end up in partial hand and finger amputations," Ivankovich said. "These are not normal traumas — they're explosive."
He worries the most for young kids and reminded parents t supervise their children around any fireworks display, and to leave it up to the experts.
The extra patriotism around the 250th birthday of the United States will also likely mean more fireworks than your average Independence Day this weekend.
"I'm expecting it to be a wild and crazy weekend, and unfortunately that correlates to wild and crazy visits to the emergency room," Ivankovich said.
Longoria hopes Chicago families will heed their warnings.
"You're not safe from anything. Fire is fire, explosions are explosions, no matter how big, no matter how small, anything can hurt you," she said.
More than half of all fireworks-related injuries occur between July 1 and July 8, with the most happening on July 4 and 5.
