CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Health care providers are advising extra care during the July 4 holiday around fireworks, with some concerned about burns and others concerned about breathing in smoke.
“Last year alone, there were about 13,000 firework-related injuries that were treated in the emergency rooms in the United States, and about 15 of those were reported fatalities,” Valerie Quick, Trauma Program Manager at the UVA Health Trauma Center, said in a reporter conference call. “Most of them are going to be burn-related injuries, but you can certainly have injuries to the eyes, the face, the hands, as debris can blow up, and it really can be, very affecting of people’s eyesight.”
The American Lung Association is also educating the public on the risks associated with firework smoke and sharing tips to enjoy displays more safely.
“When fireworks explode, they release irritating gases and harmful metals, including carbon monoxide, aluminum and cadmium, into the air,” the ALA Virginia release said. “Firework smoke also contains tiny particles, known as particulate matter (PM), which can irritate the lungs, trigger asthma attacks and cause other respiratory symptoms.”
Breathing in firework smoke is unhealthy for everyone. But children, older adults, those who are pregnant and individuals with lung or heart disease are especially vulnerable, according to the ALA.
The organization advises staying upwind, staying indoors, monitoring air quality, and being aware and enact an action plan if symptoms develop.
Quick at UVA Health said many don’t realize the burn hazard of sparklers.
“Sparklers, which we don’t think of as being very dangerous, they always burn at around 2,000, almost 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit,” said Quick. “That’s actually hot enough to melt metal.
“With sparklers, we’ll see burns, but also that, the possibility of igniting clothing, or other things.”
She advised the best thing to do is not do fireworks and leave it up to the professionals putting on their shows.
But, if people are going to do their own, she advised making sure the fireworks are legal.
In Charlottesville, that’s none, as the city prohibits fireworks.
Some fireworks are legal in Albemarle County, but any that leave the ground, explode, or launch a projectile are not, Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Maddux said.
When igniting the fireworks, Quick said a responsible adult should be lighting them off one at a time and taking multiple steps back each time.
“Once those fireworks are lit, you don’t want to relight those fireworks, or get too close to check them out,” she said. “You want to have a bucket of water or a garden hose handy, so anything that doesn’t go off needs to be placed in that. And then afterwards, any sort of remnants are really doused down with water so that you reduce the chance of fire happening.”
She said eye protection is helpful as well.
While fireworks are illegal in some parts of Virginia, a new survey by LendingTree.com shows the Commonwealth the #1 fireworks exporting state having exported some $4.7 million in 2025.
And that wasn’t even close to the second-ranked exporter, North Dakota, that exported $1.2 million.
The reason, according to LendingTree Chief Credit Analyst Matt Schulz, is one of the largest manufacturers of professional show pyrotechnics Fireworks by Grucci, a New York-based company, has a large manufacturing center in Radford. The company claims 14 Guiness Book of World Records entries since 1979.
“They do everything from Presidential inaugurations to hotel opening in the Middle East to all sorts of giant displays,” Shulz told Cville Right Now.
