Safety Tips for Sparklers, Fireworks, and 4th of July

Although we all know it’s not safe to play with fire, many of us can’t resist the appeal of setting off fireworks and sparklers at our family celebrations around the Fourth of July.

Almost two-thirds of parents of school-age children have fireworks at family celebrations, and so do roughly 2 in 5 parents of toddlers and preschoolers, according to a 2022 national poll.

But there are plenty of good reasons to leave fireworks to the professionals. In 2024, fireworks led to 11 deaths and sent about 14,700 people to the emergency room — a more than a 50 percent increase in injuries compared with the previous year— according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Of those ER visits, nearly 1,700 were caused by accidents involving sparklers.

“Every year around the Fourth of July, emergency departments see an increase in preventable accidents and injuries,” said Alison Haddock, MD, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), in a press release.

Summer celebrations also lead to a spike in wildfires: Almost twice as many wildfires are recorded on July 4th in the western United States compared with any other day of the year, according to one study.

Here are some precautions to keep you and your family, friends, and neighbors safe if your celebrations include setting off your own fireworks.

2. Prepare for Emergencies

In case of fire, keep an extinguisher and a large bucket of water or hose nearby, ACEP suggests. Always soak fireworks and sparklers in water after use. Throwing them away when they’re dry can start fires — and they may be hot enough to start a fire even if they don’t look like they’re still burning.

This is especially important as climate change raises the risk of wildfires: Longer and more frequent droughts and heat waves can lead to dry vegetation, which can quickly go up in flames that spread rapidly.

4. Make Sure Everyone Is Paying Attention

Many injuries happen to people who aren’t handling fireworks and sparklers themselves, says Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, the president of the Child Injury Prevention Alliance and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Bystanders are especially at risk from bottle rockets, he says.

Fireworks injuries most often happen when users or bystanders don’t have time to get out of the way when fireworks go off too soon or move in an unexpected direction, says Sarah Clark, MPH, the codirector of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

Resources

Minimize Risks When Celebrating With Sparklers and Fireworks. C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital —University of Michigan. June 20, 2022.
Fireworks Injuries and Deaths 2024. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Celebrate Independence Day Safely with Tips from Emergency Physicians. American College of Emergency Physicians. June 30, 2025.
Sadegh M. Analysis: Nearly Twice As Many Wildfires Are Recorded on July 4 as Other Days in the West. PBS Newshour. July 4, 2023.
Fireworks Safety. American College of Emergency Physicians.
Price K. Fireworks Trigger Wildfires. Climate Change May Increase the Risk. High Country News. July 4, 2024.
Fireworks Safety Tips. City of Northfield, Minnesota.
Minor Burns - Aftercare. MedlinePlus. September 4, 2024.

Justin Laube, MD

Medical Reviewer

Justin Laube, MD, is a board-certified integrative and internal medicine physician, a teacher, and a consultant with extensive expertise in integrative health, medical education, and trauma healing.

He graduated with a bachelor's in biology from the University of Wisconsin and a medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. During medical school, he completed a graduate certificate in integrative therapies and healing practices through the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. He completed his three-year residency training in internal medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles on the primary care track and a two-year fellowship in integrative East-West primary care at the UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine.

He is currently taking a multiyear personal and professional sabbatical to explore the relationship between childhood trauma, disease, and the processes of healing. He is developing a clinical practice for patients with complex trauma, as well as for others going through significant life transitions. He is working on a book distilling the insights from his sabbatical, teaching, and leading retreats on trauma, integrative health, mindfulness, and well-being for health professionals, students, and the community.

Previously, Dr. Laube was an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he provided primary care and integrative East-West medical consultations. As part of the faculty, he completed a medical education fellowship and received a certificate in innovation in curriculum design and evaluation. He was the fellowship director at the Center for East-West Medicine and led courses for physician fellows, residents, and medical students.

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Lisa Rapaport is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience on the health beat as a writer and editor. She holds a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and spent a year as a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in dozens of local and national media outlets, including Reuters, Bloomberg, WNYC, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, Huffington Post, Yahoo! News, The Sacramento Bee, and The Buffalo News.

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