MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — 'Tis the season for fireworks. But letting the sparks fly can also land you in the hospital or in trouble with the police. Most firework injuries happen around Independence Day weekend. In Connecticut, fireworks are a tradition fueled by illegal out-of-state purchases.
“We know that they’re coming into the state, we know that people are using them. They’re purchasing them from some of the other New England states that legalize them: Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania,” said Sgt. Paul Makuc of The Connecticut State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit.
From an outright ban in New York to free rain in New Hampshire, firework laws are all but consistent throughout New England’s six states. When it comes to celebrating July 4th, what’s allowed in neighboring Rhode Island could land you in trouble in Connecticut.
“Devices that are considered explosives, those are felony charges in the state of Connecticut,” Makuc said.
Law enforcement responded to an uptick in firework activity in Connecticut communities like Hartford during the pandemic. Still, three-quarters of all firework injuries nationwide happen in the two weeks around Independence Day.
Jason Bresky, a critical care nurse at The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital said, “We pray for a rainy 4th of July unlike the rest of the populous because we don’t want to see people coming in and visiting us as patients.
“The illegal variety explode and so wind up with lots of injuries, including orthopedic injuries, explosions, eye trauma and these injuries can be lifelong and or fatal.”
Even sprinklers and fountains, the only legal fireworks in Connecticut, can be dangerous and should only be used with a torch by people 16 years or older, and be fully extinguished with flowing water before being disposed.
Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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