Mass. fire officials demonstrate perils of consumer fireworks

Yesterday near Houghton’s Pond, with July Fourth fast approaching, fire officials and medical workers set off the M-80 and other fireworks as a safety demonstration to urge parents and children to stay away from consumer fireworks, which are illegal in Massachusetts.

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan warned against what he called “the continued injuries and rampant use of illegal fireworks’’ he has seen in the past and expects to see this year. Coan said most illegal fireworks are transported into the state by residents who cross the border into New Hampshire, where consumer fireworks are legal.

“There are outlets very close to our borders, set there specifically to entice Massachusetts citizens,’’ he said, noting that bringing fireworks into the state can result in a minimum $100 fine.

“Consumer fireworks are so inherently dangerous, they should not be used,’’ said James M. Shannon, president of the National Fire Protection Association.

In the past decade, there have been 713 major fires and explosions because of fireworks in Massachusetts, causing one death, 23 injuries, and nearly $1.6 million in property loss, according to the Department of Fire Services in the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

The speakers encouraged residents to attend professional fireworks displays on Independence Day instead, and urged parents to set an example for their children by staying away from illegal fireworks.

Jonathan Jackson, a Texas man who was blinded in his right eye at age 8 when he was hit by a firework, offered his cautionary tale. Now a track and field Olympic hopeful, he said, he has struggled with his partial blindness, which has prevented him from becoming a firefighter like his father.

Nearly 10,000 people nationwide are treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries each year, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

“These are all 100 percent-preventable injuries,’’ said Dr. Amy Rezak, a burn surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

As part of yesterday’s event, the State Police bomb squad set off three types of fireworks near child-size mannequins to illustrate the severity of the injuries consumer fireworks can inflict.

Even Class C fireworks, which include sparklers and are sometimes called “safe and sane,’’ are dangerous, said Dr. Robert Riviello, also a burn surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Sparklers burn at 1,200 degrees. “Twelve-hundred degrees will instantly set your kid’s clothes on fire,’’ said Riviello. “You can just begin to imagine what it does to skin, muscle, and bone.’’

Coan said many fireworks-related burns are caused by sparklers.

“I really have been doing this for a lot of years,’’ Coan said. “I understand that by being here today we’re not going to eliminate this problem.’’ Instead, he said, he hopes at least a few families will listen.