Teen Loses 4 Fingers When Firework Explodes

Boy Found Firework In Closet

July 4, 2007

LOS ANGELES — A 13-year-old boy lost four of his fingers on his left hand following the explosion of what was described as as “cylindrical firework” at his South Los Angeles home, a city fire spokesperson said Wednesday.

Fire personnel were dispatched to the scene of the explosion at 6914 1/2 S. Main St. Tuesday at 9:08 p.m., said Los Angeles city fire spokesperson Brian Humphrey.

The teenager told firefighters that he had seen an adult in his home put a “cylindrical firework” in a closet and then leave, Humphrey said.

Mistaking the device for a “Roman Candle,” which is limited to producing sparks, the boy took the firework outside and lit the fuse.

Humphrey said the high-powered explosion that occurred in the boy’s left hand destroyed four his fingers beyond recovery, but spared him other obvious physical impairment.

“Firefighter-paramedics cleaned and dressed the boy’s painful wounds while their colleagues fruitlessly searched the vicinity for remnants of his fingers,” he said.

The boy was accompanied by his mother to Harbor/University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center for further medical treatment.