Recalled Sparklers Burn Several in Idaho on Independence Day

July 09--TWIN FALLS -- Like thousands of people across Idaho and America, Ammy Waters bought sparklers to celebrate Independence Day.

She lit the first few at a party at her house in Twin Falls on July 4. But before she had time to react, the sparklers went up, and a large flame "just hotter than anything" burned her right hand.

"It looks like a burned, charred hot dog, kind of," she said, describing her injuries. "And it's on all of my fingers."

When Waters went to the emergency room at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center, the receptionist told her she was the third person to come in that night with similar sparkler burns.

Waters was one of several people in Twin Falls, and others elsewhere -- including, according to other media reports, one man in the Pocatello area and a woman in North Dakota -- injured by YoYo sparklers.

Jake's Fireworks, the Pittsburg, Kan.-based company distributing them, recalled the sparklers on July 3, posting a notice on its website that their "unusual burn capacity can cause severe burns."

The sparklers are called "YoYo" because they are designed to burn downward, then back upward. Jake's spokesman Mike Baker said this is the first year the company has distributed the sparklers, and it was alerted the evening of July 2 about people who had burned their hands while using them. After testing them, the company issued the recall and filed a report with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"When you initially light the sparkler, it ignites very vigorously," Baker said. "Some people call it almost exploding. And (it) burns incredibly rapidly downward."

Word of the recall didn't reach people who had already bought the sparklers, though. Waters said she wants to go public to make sure anyone who still has them doesn't use them. She is thankful that, at least, she was holding the sparklers and not the children at her party.

"We're just glad that it didn't happen to the kids," she said.

The sparklers, like most fireworks used in the United States, are manufactured in Hunan province, China. Before fireworks are imported, they are certified by the federal Department of Transportation and also tested by the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory, Baker said.

"We don't manufacture. It goes through an approval process and a testing process and everything else before we even touch it," said Baker. "But our customers still buy the product, and we're very concerned about their welfare."

Baker said that anyone who still has the sparklers can return them to either where they bought them or to Jake's Fireworks for a full refund.

Waters says the company should have done more to get out word of the recall. She said she understands it might not have been possible to notify every booth selling them, "but at least do something."

A lawyer for Jake's contacted Waters and offered to cover whatever her insurance doesn't, once she has all the bills. The Twin Falls law firm May, Browning and May is representing Waters and at least one other person in town who was burned, and is gathering information. Bart Browning, who is handling the case, didn't return a call seeking comment for this story.

Rob Adolf of Twin Falls said he bought YoYo sparklers at a stand in town and went to his parents' house. Adolf held a few in his hand, planning to light them and give them to his kids. He lit one, and it flashed and spread to the other two.

"At the same time, they all just shot down, kind of like a bolt of lightning basically, and just burned my thumb and my first three fingers and the palm of my hand," he said. "It was almost instantaneous, like an electrical burn."

Adolf took care of his injury himself that night, and went to see his doctor on Monday. He suffered second-degree burns, but said it should heal on its own.

"I was very fortunate," Adolf said. "I'm just glad I was actually holding it, not my 5-year-old, because that would have been catastrophic."

Waters has a tougher road ahead of her. She will need plastic surgery to remove the blisters, and her surgeon said it would take six to eight weeks for her hand to heal.

She is a special-education teacher, so she won't be missing work because she is off for the summer. However, she is also certified in crisis management instruction and needs to recertify, which she can't do until her hand heals, since part of the test includes being able to restrain someone.

Waters has 90 days to get recertified, but the last chance in the area to do so is in early August and she probably won't be healed by then, meaning she will have to travel out of state to get her recertification.

With her right hand injured and bandaged, Waters needs help with some daily tasks. Also, she is an officer in a motorcycle club and can't ride with her throttle hand hurt.

"It's my passion and my hobby," she said, "and I'm out this summer."

Copyright 2015 - The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho