PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Boating, grilling, and fireworks are all key parts of any good Fourth of July party.
But those activities can also bring a risk of injury, and every year, thousands of Independence Day celebrations take a turn for the worse and send people to the hospital.
Fireworks take over the sky on the Fourth of July, but the American celebration is also linked to another kind of boom.
“We go on more fire-related calls tonight than any other day of the year,” said Phoenix Fire Captain Todd Keller.
“Very busy in the ER,” said Dr. Frank LoVecchio, who works at Valleywise Health.
For both first responders and doctors, there’s a boom in the number of patients. Independence Day is considered one of the most dangerous holidays.
“You have to be really careful,” said Dr. LoVecchio.
July 4 is the deadliest day of the year on the roads, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. But even if you’re not driving, there are lots of ways you can get hurt.
RELATED: Arizona agencies increase road presence for Fourth of July weekend
Grilling at a backyard barbecue, heading out on the boat, or lighting off fireworks are all opportunities for bad accidents, especially when you add alcohol to the mix.
“It’s very uncommon to see somebody who lit something and it explodes unintentionally that has not used alcohol or drugs,” said Dr. LoVecchio.
In his three decades as an emergency care physician, Dr. LoVecchio has seen people die because of that. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports nearly 15,000 people were treated for firework-related injuries in ERs across the country last year, a sharp increase of about 52% from 2023.
And things can go wrong with sparklers, too.
“Those burn extremely hot. You can instantly get a third degree burn,” said Captain Keller.
“We’ve seen people lose their eyes from the fireworks. We’ve unfortunately seen people lose digits, hands from the fireworks. So very, very serious,” said Dr. LoVecchio.
GUIDE: Where to see fireworks in the Phoenix area for Fourth of July 2025
To prevent that and to avoid starting a fire, Captain Keller has these tips:
“Only light one at a time. Have a bucket of water. Light these on a concrete pad and have a hose nearby in case some of these fireworks do extend any kind of dry brush,” he said.
After 7 p.m. is when fire crews expect to really get busy with lots of calls about smoke and dumpster fires that could spread to homes.
That’s why it’s really important you fully extinguish any fireworks after use to make sure your celebration doesn’t turn into a disaster for someone else.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.