Firework explosion injures Fort Salonga man during July 4 celebration

Jerry DiMucci was struck in the face by a firework as a Fourth of July celebration unfolded at Callahans Beach in Fort Salonga, sending the 45-year-old to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The blast happened at about 8:50 p.m. on July 4.

Detectives from the Fourth Squad were investigating the incident after DiMucci was lighting the firework when it exploded. The Suffolk County Police Department asked anyone with information to call the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452. The department’s July 5 press release was credited to James McDonald.

Governor Kathy Hochul issued a fireworks-safety advisory on July 3 warning that injuries commonly increase around July 4 and urging New Yorkers to attend public displays instead of handling fireworks themselves. New York State allows only certain sparkling devices as consumer fireworks in parts of the state, and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services identifies sparklers and certain novelty devices as the only consumer fireworks legal in some areas.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated 13,000 emergency-department-treated injuries in 2025 and at least 15 fireworks-related deaths from fireworks misuse and malfunction. Sparklers reach temperatures above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

A separate July 4 death involved a 37-year-old man killed while lighting a firework at about 9:30 p.m. Earlier in 2026, another man was seriously injured in East Patchogue when a firework detonated in his lap inside an apartment.