Oklahoma EMS Crews See Spike in Firework Mishaps

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July 07--Emergency personnel responded to a higher number of fireworks-related accidents in the Tulsa area this Independence Day weekend than in past years, officials said.

The number of ambulance runs for injuries caused by fireworks spiked this year, said Kelli Bruer, director of public relations for EMSA.

For three years in a row -- 2006 through 2008 -- EMSA medics did not transport anyone to a hospital for fireworks injuries from July 1 through 5. One patient was transported in 2009 and another in 2010 during that time frame, but neither injury was classified as serious, Bruer said.

"Over the years, we really do not see a lot of firework burns and traumas," Bruer said. "Maybe one or two a year."

But this year, six people were treated for fireworks-related burns and injuries, she said. Five of them were taken to hospitals.

One was a 13-year-old boy who was seriously injured when a firework exploded in his face Tuesday night, Bruer said.

The youngest person EMSA medics treated this year was 6, and the oldest was 67, she said. Two patients were female, and four were male.

Bruer said several patients were injured by "mortar-type" fireworks but that there was no clear trend.

In one case, a firework tipped over. In another, one exploded in a person's hand, she said. Some who were injured said they were hit by a firework that was shot in their direction, she said.

In many cases, Bruer said, burn victims will go to a hospital by private vehicle. Because no ambulance is called, those injuries are not included in EMSA's numbers.

Bruer noted that because fireworks are illegal within Tulsa's city limits, "people don't often want to present themselves if they are involved in illegal activity."

Angela Peterson, a spokeswoman for Hillcrest Medical Center, said that hospital treated six people with fireworks injuries from Saturday through Monday.

The OSU Medical Center had about five patients with firework injuries, but spokeswoman Lori Santine said there wasn't "anything unusual about the number of visits in the ER due to fireworks."

Cindy Bushnell, a marketing representative for the St. Francis Health System, said St. Francis doesn't track fireworks-specific injuries but that its emergency room volume was "pretty normal" over the holiday weekend.

Authorities in Osage County said a fireworks accident near Skiatook led to a man's death.

Austin McCloud, a welder from Wynona, died Sunday night after a firework hit him in the throat, officials said.

McCloud, 20, was lighting fireworks at a family event just outside Skiatook when he was injured.

The firework was a multishot device that malfunctioned, Undersheriff Lou Ann Brown said.

"He lit some type of firework that didn't go off," she said. "He went to check, and it blew up."

Brown said it is rare to see fatal injuries from fireworks at a family gathering.

"Just a family get-together -- that type of incident is not very common," she said.

World Staff Writer Shannon Muchmore contributed to this story.

Jerry Wofford 918-581-8310 Nicole Marshall 918-581-8459

jerry.wofford@tulsaworld.com nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com

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