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consumer fireworks

Fireworks Safety: How to Watch and Handle Them More Safely

Professional displays are the safest way to watch fireworks. If using consumer fireworks, check local rules, keep water ready, and never relight a misfire.

By ThatPainter Team 3 min read
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The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to watch a professional display. If you plan to use consumer fireworks, first check local rules, use only products labeled for consumer use, and follow precautions that reduce the risk of burns, fire, and misfires. Fireworks laws vary by location, and the injury figures below are U.S. data—not global totals.

Are fireworks safe?

Fireworks can cause serious injuries even when used for celebration. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimated 14,700 fireworks-related injuries and reported 11 fireworks-related deaths in the United States in 2024. The agency said most reported deaths involved misuse or device misfires and malfunctions. These are different measures: injuries are estimates, while deaths are reported counts. CPSC’s June 25, 2025 release provides the figures.

The body areas and injury types reported for 2024 show where harm occurred: hands and fingers accounted for 36%, head, face, and ears for 22%, and burns for 37% of emergency-room visits. These figures describe CPSC’s 2024 data; they should not be combined with the prior year’s estimates as if they were one pooled statistic.

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Choose a professional display or consumer fireworks

Professional displays

CPSC recommends professional displays as the safest way to view fireworks. At a public display, leave the launching and handling to trained operators and watch from the area designated by the organizers. CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said in the agency’s June 24, 2024 release, “The safest way to view fireworks is to watch professional displays.”

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Consumer fireworks

Consumer fireworks involve direct handling and ignition, so they carry risks that spectators at a professional display can avoid. Before buying or using them, check current rules for your city, county, state, or country; legality varies by jurisdiction. Use only fireworks labeled for consumer use, never products labeled for professional use. CPSC’s Fireworks safety guidance covers these precautions.

How to reduce risk when using consumer fireworks

  1. Check the rules and the label. Confirm that consumer fireworks are permitted where you are, and use only products labeled for consumer use.
  2. Keep children away from lighting. Do not let young children play with or ignite fireworks, including sparklers. CPSC says sparklers burn at about 2,000°F.
  3. Prepare for fire or a mishap. Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby before lighting anything.
  4. Light one at a time. Light a single firework, then move back quickly. Never use fireworks while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
  5. Leave a misfire alone. Do not relight a firework that did not ignite fully, and do not pick it up. Soak it with water before disposal.
  6. Soak used fireworks. Wet spent fireworks with water before discarding them.

Having water nearby and soaking fireworks are precautions, not guarantees against injury or fire.

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What the injury figures show—and what they do not

CPSC’s June 2024 release reported 9,700 estimated fireworks-related injuries and eight reported deaths in the United States for 2023. In its analysis of emergency-department-treated injuries during the four weeks around July 4, hands and fingers accounted for 35%, head, face, and ears for 22%, and about 42% were burns. Those figures use a holiday-period analysis and a different year from the 2024 figures above, so keep their dates and measures attached to them. CPSC’s June 24, 2024 release also reported that approximately 18% of selected and tested fireworks products contained noncompliant components in fiscal year 2023. That test result applies to the selected products tested, not to all fireworks sold.

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The figures are a U.S. snapshot, not a prediction of the risk from any particular product or display. Injury estimates, reported deaths, emergency-room injury categories, and product testing describe different things.

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