Wash. Fireworks Injuries Increase In 2019, State Data Show

BELLEVUE, WA — The state Fire Marshal's Office has received more reports of fireworks injuries and incidents so far in 2019 than there were in all of 2018. The increase is likely due to an increase in agencies around the state sending in reports of fireworks-related incidents, according to state officials.

So far this year, there have been 331 incidents involving a fire or injury related to fireworks. Almost 90 percent of those incidents happened around Independence Day, between June 28 and July 5.

In 2018, the state fire marshal received 301 reports of fireworks-related damage. In that total, 209 were injuries, the rest were fires sparked by fireworks.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Alyson VanCleave said that her office does not have enough data to determine if fireworks caused more damage this year.

"The reporting of fireworks-related injuries and fires is not required by state law, therefore we highly encourage that agencies report any injuries and fires, but not all are reported. With that being said, we actually attribute this year's increase to an increase in the reporting of fireworks-related injuries and fires as opposed to an increase in injuries and fires themselves, though we can't be sure," VanCleave said in a statement.

The number of injuries and fires caused by fireworks has fluctuated over the last decade — but the total number of incidents appears to be on the decline. In 2009, the state counted 1,236 fireworks incidents, although over 1,000 of those were fires. The total number hasn't exceeded 500 since 2011.

Those numbers, however, track with the number of agencies reporting incidents to state officials. There were 246 reporting in 2009, including 70 hospitals. But in 2017, when there were 345 incidents total, only 99 fire departments and hospitals sent incident data to state officials.

In 2019, most fireworks injuries were due to people either holding fireworks for too long or people standing too close to fireworks.