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Sparklers can be dangerous!

JPhoboken

Heisman Winner
Mar 15, 2005
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Witnessed this early this evening in Liberty state Park next to the Kids Playground. My daughters, 7 and 10, and I had stopped while biking. We were seated at a picnic table next to about 40-50 people, with lots of young kids who were having a birthday party. It was extremely windy, and we saw somebody pull out a few boxes of sparklers (obviously illegal, especially in a State Park.)

These were not the regular thin sparklers, they were much thicker, maybe 3/8 to 1/2". Looked like some kind of super sparklers. Now having spent a long time as a Safety engineer, and some time as a Fire Fighter, as well as having been burned by sparklers myself as a kid, I noticed a few things that did not bode well for this fun intended by some well meaning parents, but who maybe were not using there best judgment.

First off, it was very windy, so the sparks that were going to come off were going to be going sideways. Sparklers burn to a temperature of about 2000 Degrees F. Plus They were handing them out to kids, some of whom were only 4 or 5 years old. The kids fanned out and many were next to my picnic table.

They started lighting the sparklers, and pretty much immediately the mayhem started. The Sparklers were burning hot with tremendous sparks coming off. Kids raised the sparklers in the air and spun around. When they were directly downwind, the sparks were hitting them in the face and going in their hair.

A young boy knew he was in trouble quickly when the sparks were in his hair and hitting him in the face. He threw down the sparkler and started rubbing his hair which was smoking. I immediately doused him with the water in my bottle. And he seemed ok.

Within seconds 2 very young kids maybe 4 or 5, burned their hands and threw the sparklers down as well. I grabbed my daughters water and poured water on both their fingers.

I turned around and to see parents lighting more Sparklers and still handing them out to 4 and 5 year olds.

I am all for fun, and understand parenting isn't easy, but it boggles my mind that an adult would hand a 2000 degree sparkler to a 4 year old after already witnessing 3 kids being burned.

Is it me?
 
I feel like 7 is the youngest permissible age for a sparkler
 
agree with you 100%. My wife brought sparklers to my sons birthday party with his 12U baseball all-star team (12 kids total plus 4 or 5 younger brothers). I told her not to hand them out. But as usual, it's as though I was not there. It was a miracle that no one was injured. I was yelling out to all the kids running around that the rods stay hot and can burn you for about 5 minutes. Don't poke eyes out. Don't toss them in the garbage can because you might start a fire, etc... 10 minutes of mayhem and prayer.

She also wanted to put sparklers on my son's cake because that's what her Mom used to do. I said NFW, you want toxic metal particles on a kids' cake? Stupid is the operative word here.
 
Lets all live in inflatable houses, while wrapped in bubble wrap, work from home via the internet and truly eliminate anything harmful in our environment. We can live like the people in Wall-E.

The list of things that are more harmful than sparklers is so long we don't have enough space in this thread to list them all.
 
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Lets all live in inflatable houses, while wrapped in bubble wrap, work from home via the internet and truly eliminate anything harmful in our environment. We can live like the people in Wall-E.

The list of things that are more harmful than sparklers is so long we don't have enough space in this thread to list them all.

Trust me, I get that there are other dangerous things out there. And I agree, you can't live your life on a couch. Not suggesting that in any way.

But these young kids were not making decisions for themselves, the adults in attendance were.

4 year olds, super sparklers, high wind.......Perhaps the adults could have shown a little more judgement?
 
Lets all live in inflatable houses, while wrapped in bubble wrap, work from home via the internet and truly eliminate anything harmful in our environment. We can live like the people in Wall-E.

The list of things that are more harmful than sparklers is so long we don't have enough space in this thread to list them all.
-------------------

when I was about 12 I was lighting up sparklers and throwing them up in the air, a couple of friends doing likewise....we went into the house a few minutes later and soon heard a commotion outside....a tree in a neighbors yard was starting to burn....no one noticed that one of the sparklers got hung up in the tree high up.....fortunately it was noticed before the fire could spread and totally damage the tree and possibly houses.
 
You can't fix stupid.

You forgot the last part of this saying..........

YOU+CAN'T+FIX+STUPID.png
 
Like everyone else, I also played with sparklers and small explosives like cherry bombs and ashcans. I also remember buying some of these things when we were out of state on a vacation with my mother's knowledge. I think just about everyone figured these were safe since they were so readily available. Of course, that football player found out they can easily remove some parts of your body if you are not careful.
Very young children should not be allowed to be doing anything with something on fire. Their knowledge of danger is not all that well developed and if they are given it by their parents they just assume it is safe.
 
Like everyone else, I also played with sparklers and small explosives like cherry bombs and ashcans. I also remember buying some of these things when we were out of state on a vacation with my mother's knowledge. I think just about everyone figured these were safe since they were so readily available. Of course, that football player found out they can easily remove some parts of your body if you are not careful.
Very young children should not be allowed to be doing anything with something on fire. Their knowledge of danger is not all that well developed and if they are given it by their parents they just assume it is safe.

I disagree with you slightly. went camping with my girls and I let my oldest (5) fiddle with the fire using a stick. She thought it was neat. Of course she wasnt doing a color guard routine with the hot poker.
 
Saturday night I watched fireworks being shot off at a party a block away. I was standing on the deck when one obviously went off prematurely on the ground. Don't know if anyone was hurt but you'd think with all the publicity recently that even idiots would think twice. Guess not.
 
Some adults can just not be stopped when they are intent on blowing their nuts off. But at least they are making the decision for themselves. Handing a lit 2000 degree F burning stick to a 4 year old who doesn't know any better should cause your parenting license to be revoked. Wait, there are no licenses for parenting?

By5OgX.gif
 
Some adults can just not be stopped when they are intent on blowing their nuts off. But at least they are making the decision for themselves. Handing a lit 2000 degree F burning stick to a 4 year old who doesn't know any better should cause your parenting license to be revoked. Wait, there are no licenses for parenting?

By5OgX.gif
Hmmm. That gif looks painful
 
Well the government will have to come to the rescue and save us from ourselves once again.


Seriously though plenty of comments of guys who did foolish things at a young age and they are still here to tell us about it. Something tells me the next generation won't understand danger because they neverexperienced It first hand and they will end up a Darwin award winner anyway. Either that or they end a complete hermit on government assistance because they have a disorder that prevents them from going outside for fear of a hangnail.
 
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Well the government will have to come to the rescue and save us from ourselves once again.


Seriously though plenty of comments of guys who did foolish things at a young age and they are still here to tell us about it. Something tells me the next generation won't understand danger because they neverexperienced It first hand and they will end up a Darwin award winner anyway. Either that or they end a complete hermit on government assistance because they have a disorder that prevents them from going outside for fear of a hangnail.


Bryanjints,

You sound EXACTLY like I used to... before I had kids. My guess is that you don't and instead, you're pontificating on the "wussification of America" and other B.S. Once you have a kid, you stop making stupid comments and stop making bad choices on your child's behalf. People who continue to make those bad choices end up losing their kids to the state or perhaps lose their kids to serious injury and / or death.

Get off your high horse bud.

BTW, I was born in 1970 and did every stupid thing imaginable (for those of you who grew up in the 70's, you'll appreciate the classic Dan Akroyd skit, "Bag of Glass"). Everything from lighting M80s inside a soda bottle to playing mailbox baseball. I've seen and done it all and sadly, for my kid, he'll never be able to get away with anything since I wrote the book on being a juvenile delinquent.

Bill
 
Bryanjints,

You sound EXACTLY like I used to... before I had kids. My guess is that you don't and instead, you're pontificating on the "wussification of America" and other B.S. Once you have a kid, you stop making stupid comments and stop making bad choices on your child's behalf. People who continue to make those bad choices end up losing their kids to the state or perhaps lose their kids to serious injury and / or death.

Get off your high horse bud.

BTW, I was born in 1970 and did every stupid thing imaginable (for those of you who grew up in the 70's, you'll appreciate the classic Dan Akroyd skit, "Bag of Glass"). Everything from lighting M80s inside a soda bottle to playing mailbox baseball. I've seen and done it all and sadly, for my kid, he'll never be able to get away with anything since I wrote the book on being a juvenile delinquent.

Bill
And the wussification of America grows.
 
And the wussification of America grows.

Really? Because we are suggesting parents should use better judgement when handing out fireworks to kids? You can't be serious.

Read this, and then tell me show me your video of lighting off fireworks in your teeth least we think you are a wussy.

And then show me a video you handing a sparkler to a 4 year old, again, we wouldn't want anyone to think you or your kids are wussies.

Fireworks by the numbers
  • In 2011, fireworks caused an estimated 17,800 reported fires, including 1,200 total structure fires, 400 vehicle fires, and 16,300 outside and other fires. These fires resulted in an estimated 40 civilian injuries and $32 million in direct property damage. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has released its report on "Fireworks-Related Deaths, Emergency Department-Treated Injuries, and Enforcement Activities During 2014".
  • In 2013, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 11,400 people for fireworks related injuries; 55% of those injuries were to the extremities and 38% were to the head.
  • The risk of fireworks injury is highest for young people ages 0-4, followed by children 10-14.
  • On July 4th in a typical year, far more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day, and fireworks account for two out of five of those fires, more than any other cause of fires.
 
Really? Because we are suggesting parents should use better judgement when handing out fireworks to kids? You can't be serious.

Read this, and then tell me show me your video of lighting off fireworks in your teeth least we think you are a wussy.

And then show me a video you handing a sparkler to a 4 year old, again, we wouldn't want anyone to think you or your kids are wussies.

Fireworks by the numbers
  • In 2011, fireworks caused an estimated 17,800 reported fires, including 1,200 total structure fires, 400 vehicle fires, and 16,300 outside and other fires. These fires resulted in an estimated 40 civilian injuries and $32 million in direct property damage. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has released its report on "Fireworks-Related Deaths, Emergency Department-Treated Injuries, and Enforcement Activities During 2014".
  • In 2013, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 11,400 people for fireworks related injuries; 55% of those injuries were to the extremities and 38% were to the head.
  • The risk of fireworks injury is highest for young people ages 0-4, followed by children 10-14.
  • On July 4th in a typical year, far more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day, and fireworks account for two out of five of those fires, more than any other cause of fires.

Sparklers caused all these fires?!?!?! That's some crazy statistics.


Try again buddy. Fireworks aren't even in the top ten causes of fires.

You know what's number 1? Cooking causes nearly 50% of the residential structure fires. Guess what else is in the top 10, Christmas lights.

By the reasoning in this thread anyone that cooks inside the home with children present and or puts up Christmas/holiday lights is unnecessarily endangering their children and should lose them to protective services. You are nuts. There are many more dangerous things in the world than sparklers.

And for the record I have a 4 year old and how I raise my child is none of your damn business. I won't tell you how to raise your kids and don't tell me how to raise mine cause I don't care your opinion of how I live my life or raise my child.

This is the problem with today's society, constantly judging others and expecting them to live like you do. Mind yourself and let the idiots wean themselves out.
 
Sparklers caused all these fires?!?!?! That's some crazy statistics.


Try again buddy. Fireworks aren't even in the top ten causes of fires.

You know what's number 1? Cooking causes nearly 50% of the residential structure fires. Guess what else is in the top 10, Christmas lights.

By the reasoning in this thread anyone that cooks inside the home with children present and or puts up Christmas/holiday lights is unnecessarily endangering their children and should lose them to protective services. You are nuts. There are many more dangerous things in the world than sparklers.

And for the record I have a 4 year old and how I raise my child is none of your damn business. I won't tell you how to raise your kids and don't tell me how to raise mine cause I don't care your opinion of how I live my life or raise my child.

This is the problem with today's society, constantly judging others and expecting them to live like you do. Mind yourself and let the idiots wean themselves out.

Lighten up Francis
 
Sparklers caused all these fires?!?!?! That's some crazy statistics.


Try again buddy. Fireworks aren't even in the top ten causes of fires.

You know what's number 1? Cooking causes nearly 50% of the residential structure fires. Guess what else is in the top 10, Christmas lights.

By the reasoning in this thread anyone that cooks inside the home with children present and or puts up Christmas/holiday lights is unnecessarily endangering their children and should lose them to protective services. You are nuts. There are many more dangerous things in the world than sparklers.

And for the record I have a 4 year old and how I raise my child is none of your damn business. I won't tell you how to raise your kids and don't tell me how to raise mine cause I don't care your opinion of how I live my life or raise my child.

This is the problem with today's society, constantly judging others and expecting them to live like you do. Mind yourself and let the idiots wean themselves out.

Dude, Lighten up, no reason to get vitriolic.

1. My post was responding to What Bagarocks posted not you.

2. We were discussing injuries to young children when Parents give them fireworks, which includes sparklers. Not fires, going on that tangent was purposeless.

3. I don't care how you raise your kid, thats your business. But as someone who has spent time as Firefighter and Safety engineer and has investigated hundreds of accidents and have seen tragic results, I suggest we all use some judgement when using fireworks around kids or giving them fireworks to hold. Sorry if you think that is butting in, we'll just have to agree to disagree. As far as adults go, they are free to make their own choices, so they need to accept whatever consequences occur.

4. I don't expect anybody to live like I do, no where do I say this or send any message suggesting thats what I mean. I am suggesting parents use some judgement when giving fireworks to kids to keep them safe. Sorry if you have a problem with this.

No need to go ballistic, you can state your points civilly without a combative tone,
 
Really? Because we are suggesting parents should use better judgement when handing out fireworks to kids? You can't be serious.

Read this, and then tell me show me your video of lighting off fireworks in your teeth least we think you are a wussy.

And then show me a video you handing a sparkler to a 4 year old, again, we wouldn't want anyone to think you or your kids are wussies.

Fireworks by the numbers
  • In 2011, fireworks caused an estimated 17,800 reported fires, including 1,200 total structure fires, 400 vehicle fires, and 16,300 outside and other fires. These fires resulted in an estimated 40 civilian injuries and $32 million in direct property damage. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has released its report on "Fireworks-Related Deaths, Emergency Department-Treated Injuries, and Enforcement Activities During 2014".
  • In 2013, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 11,400 people for fireworks related injuries; 55% of those injuries were to the extremities and 38% were to the head.
  • The risk of fireworks injury is highest for young people ages 0-4, followed by children 10-14.
  • On July 4th in a typical year, far more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day, and fireworks account for two out of five of those fires, more than any other cause of fires.
Pardon me but the "CPC" report you have linked, the data is all estimated. Which cannot be confirmed as factual information hence estimated.
The data below is confirmed and factual.
All data below certified by the NFPA

In 2013, there were 1,240,000 fires reported in the United States. These fires caused 3,240 civilian deaths, 15,925 civilian injuries, and $11.5 billion in property damage.

During the five-year period of 2007-2011, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 156,600 home structure fires in which cooking equipment was involved in the ignition or in which the fire department used an incident type that identified a cooking fire that did not spread beyond the cooking vessel. Together, these fires caused an average of 400 civilian deaths, 5,080 reported civilian fire injuries, and $853 million in direct property damage per year.
Oh I'am also a Firefighter of 35 years...
 
I'll leave thediscussion after this post.

1. I wouldn't give a sparkler or firework to a 4 year old.

2. More children die every year from bicycle accidents than fireworks.
 
I'll leave thediscussion after this post.

1. I wouldn't give a sparkler or firework to a 4 year old.

2. More children die every year from bicycle accidents than fireworks.

I am out too, the going off on tangents and combativeness serves no purpose.

We agree about may not be prudent giving a sparkler or fireworks to a 4 year old. No disagreement there.

I never said fireworks were the biggest statistical threat to kids, nor did I say there were not other threats to kids, so I am not sure who you are debating on this topic. My OP was about 3 burn injuries to young children I witnessed on Sunday with sparklers. If you want to talk about bicycle safety, by all means start a thread about it.

I just said parents should use judgement when giving kids fireworks.

Have a nice night all.
 
If we don't let our children play with fire, how will they ever learn how to handle it safely?
Agree, but do it in an individual, supervised setting. Not in a big, unsupervised group. The big downside to group bedlam, is the kid that knows how to handle fire gets burned by the dumb a$$ kid that doesn't.
 
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