Fireworks Safety for July 4th in Oregon and Washington

As a public service for July 4th, we'd like to remind all of our readers to practice common sense when it comes to fireworks. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, fireworks caused an estimated 9,200 injuries that required treatment in U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2006.

The culprit, according to Dr. Tim Stout, an ophthalmologist with Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland, Oregon, is often the natural predisposition for kids is to make the biggest bang in the most cleverly engineered ways possible. "They try to set up big explosions, and those are the kinds that can cause serious injury."

The National Council on Fireworks Safety offers several tips for safe fireworks use. There are also fireworks safety videos that you can view.