Sparkler Blows Up, Burns User's Eyes: Report

Lake Shore, MD — A man suffered injuries to both eyes Monday night when a sparkler apparently blew up on a pier, emergency officials said.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department's Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit is investigating the mishap that injured a 19-year-old man after they were notified that the emergency department at Baltimore Washington Medical Center was treating someone injured by fireworks.

The injured man and a friend were using ground-based sparklers they bought in Anne Arundel County. One of the devices malfunctioned and exploded in the 19-year-old's face, says the fire department.

Authorities say the teen was driven to the hospital by his friend, and then transferred to the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He was treated at Wilmer and released Tuesday morning with no apparent permanent eye damage, but with concussive damage to his ears.

Maryland law bans most fireworks, although some sparklers, snappers and paper snakes are allowed. Violators who possess or discharge illegal fireworks are subject to a misdemeanor fine of up to $250. The sale of fireworks without a permit is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine.

Despite federal and state regulations on the type of fireworks available for sale to the general public, even those fireworks that are sold legally carry an elevated risk of personal injury, officials said.

For example, sparklers, which are legal in most states, burn at temperatures nearing 1200 degrees. Their colorful sparks distract from the potential dangers.

»Patch photo by Mary Ann Barton