Fort Lauderdale demo warns Broward families fireworks can cause severe injuries
At Fire Station 53, officials used fruit, a mannequin hand and raw chicken to show how fireworks can rip skin, tissue and fingers apart.
Fort Lauderdale public safety leaders gathered at Fire Station 53 on Tuesday and used a mannequin hand, raw chicken and fruit to show how quickly fireworks can cause severe injuries. Fort Lauderdale Police, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue and Broward Health Medical Center staged the demonstration as Broward families headed toward Independence Day on Saturday, and officials urged residents to skip backyard fireworks and choose professional displays instead.
Nearly 15,000 people were injured nationally by fireworks last year, Battalion Chief Christopher Davis-Partridge said, and almost half of firework injuries involved people 24 years old or younger, according to Broward Health officials. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission put the 2024 total at an estimated 14,700 injuries and 11 reported deaths, including about 1,700 emergency-room-treated sparkler injuries.
Adults ages 25 to 44 accounted for 32% of reported injuries, followed by people ages 15 to 24 at 24%, while hands and fingers made up 35% of injuries and the head, face and ears 22%, according to the commission. At the station, firefighters held sparklers near raw chicken to show how fast heat could burn through tissue, and officials warned that fireworks can lead to burns, eye injuries and amputations.
Florida law generally makes it unlawful to sell, use or explode fireworks except for permitted public displays, and it defines a narrow holiday exemption that covers use solely and exclusively on July 4, New Year's Day and New Year's Eve. Supervised displays also require permits and local approval, including sign-off from police and fire chiefs.
That alternative is the city's free 4th of July Spectacular, scheduled for Saturday, July 4, 2026, from noon to 9:15 p.m. at Las Olas Oceanside Park and Fort Lauderdale Beach. Walker Hayes is set to perform at 7:30 p.m., and the city is promoting this year's celebration as a patriotic tribute to 250 years of American independence.
Officials also warned against celebratory gunfire, reminding residents that bullets fired into the air have to come down and can kill or maim people far from where they were fired.
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