It’s a seemingly harmless firework- one that you likely put in your kid’s hand every 4th of July.
But this small illumination burns hot and it’s sending more young kids to the emergency room every year.
North Shore Fire Battalion Chief Dan Tyk says sparklers are one of the leading causes of firework related injuries.
“I think parents have this false sense of security with hey, it’s just a sparkler, it puts off some sparks, kids can twirl around,” Tyk said.
But that’s just not the case.
According to the U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission 10,000 Americans were injured by fireworks in 2019 resulting in 12 deaths. Most of those incidents happened between June 21st and July 21st.
Tyke reminds people that the tip of a sparkler burns at around 12 hundred degrees.
“The reality is, the only safe firework truly is the professional firework. We really discourage people from using consumer fireworks.”
Nationally there are over 19,000 fires related to fireworks reported each year.
You can hear the full story by clicking on the audio player above.