Dr. Dorian Drigalla, a Scott and White Memorial Hospital emergency physician, said a significant increase of patients in the emergency room is seen on the Fourth of July each year because of fireworks, car wrecks and water–related accidents.
Burns and lacerations top the list of fireworks–related injuries, he said. Drigalla didn’t work last Fourth of July, but in 2005 he noted about a 25 percent increase in the number of patients.
“We’re pretty much busy throughout the day but every year can vary,” Drigalla said. “Most of the business has to deal with how safe people are each year.”
An estimated 10,800 people were treated for fireworks–related injuries nationwide that same year, and about 60 percent of those injuries occurred between June 18 and July 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rather than chance injuries or fires, Thomas Pechal, Temple Fire and Rescue spokesman, encourages people to watch an organized fireworks display in Temple or Fort Hood.
“You have experts,” Pechal said. “You have professionals that are discharging the fireworks. That’s the safe way to enjoy the Fourth of July.”
The Temple fireworks display will be held in Miller Park on July 4 beginning at 9:30 p.m.
For those interested in creating their own fireworks array, the saturated ground may encourage potential fireworks-users to shoot their own.
“I think there’s a lot of motivation to do it this time,” Richard Cortese, Bell County commissioner, said. “I think sales will be up and you’ll see fireworks over a longer period of time,” which is good news for firework storeowners.The Temple Christian Center youth group works the American Fireworks Store on U.S. Highway 190 as a fundraiser for the church.
The stand has already seen a hike in sales, and the biggest sale days are not until three days before the Fourth of July, said Priscilla Foster of the Temple Christian Center.
“The burn ban last year absolutely made a difference from this year,” she said.
Ms. Foster expects sales to double from last July. On top of increased sales, the store is able to sell missile rockets that were banned in the past because of burn bans.
The store has been open for four seasons, and this is the first season it has been able to market the rockets.
But Foster mentioned that these once–forbidden items are not the true moneymakers. Artillery shells rake in the big bucks.“There’s a little more variation and more control when they go off,” she said.With a building full of fireworks, the youth group won’t stand for the customers to have all the fun.
“Every time we get something new in or in a different package, we go shoot it off so we know what it can do,” Foster said.
The store even offers a safe location for Central Texans to discharge fireworks.
A designated area in front of the store serves as the launching pad for fireworks. Whether an individual lives in the city or the country, if they need a place to launch fireworks, all are welcome, Foster said.The only condition is that anybody using the shooting dock must purchase the fireworks from the American Fireworks store.
Bell County Commissioner Corteseeven partakes in the fun every now and then on his land near Little River–Academy. He said his family usually shoots off a few fireworks to celebrate Independence Day.
“Fireworks are, more than anything, just tradition,” Cortese said. “People have done them for many years.”
When the Cortese family isn’t discharging fireworks, they don’t have to look far to get a private show.
“We can sit out in the country and watch others go off,” he said. “From a distance, we can see fireworks in nearly any direction, even several miles away.”
However, in past years, Cortese hasn’t seen quite as many lights in the sky with burn bans across the area. This year, he is optimistic.
“I think you’ll see some fireworks,” Cortese said.
lfrase@temple-telegram.com
