Using Professional Fireworks Often has Deadly Results

Using Professional Fireworks Often has Deadly Results - Transcript of Video Clip

Press Release # 06-197

Transcript

TEXT: Soundbites
Hal Stratton, Chairman
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Stratton: "When it comes to fireworks and consumers, the issue is very serious. This shows how powerful and just how dangerous illegal and commercial fireworks can be when we show you these demonstrations. The CPSC message this year is 'Celebrate the fourth of July, but celebrate it safely'"

Stratton: "As family and friends come together, we want every celebration to be a safe one. If fireworks are part of that celebration, we encourage the safe use of legal consumer fireworks. Enjoying commercial fireworks should be left to those who know how to work them, and that's the professionals."

Stratton: "A recent report released by the CPSC found the most common injuries of legal consumer fireworks were caused by firecrackers. Other injuries were from rockets and sparklers. Sparklers account for almost half of the injuries to children younger than five years of age, but when it comes to dismemberment and death, it is the illegal fireworks, the commercial fireworks, in consumers' hands that can be blamed most often."

TEXT: Illegal fireworks are sometimes made from chemicals found in the home or sold in illegal kits on the internet. Earlier this year a man was killed in Boynton Beach, Florida after mixing chemicals in his home. People living in the area reported thinking a plane had crashed and the explosion could be felt miles away.

TEXT: b-roll: Video shows the fire that resulted from the explosion. Sounds of fireworks exploding can also be heard on the video.

(Video footage of the fire and related explosions associated with the incident in Boynton Beach, Florida. The footage is courtesy of Melvin Todd. A large flame engolfs what can be assumed to be the man's home and car, thick black smoke surrounds the area, and sounds of explosions and sirens can be heard clearly)

TEXT: Demonstrations

TEXT: Baby Dolls with Sparklers (legal in some states)

(View of two dolls in close proximity. One is holding a lit sparkler, which ignites the dress of the doll standing near it).

TEXT: Mannequin with bottle rockets (legal in some states)

(View of man lighting bottle rocket that is located in the mannequin's pocket. Smoke can be seen coming from the bottle rocket at first, followed by whistling and a series of explosions. The smoke becomes darker and flames can be seen shooting from the jeans pocket on the mannequin).

(Close-up view of damage to mannequin's clothes as a result of the bottle rocket explosions).

TEXT: Mannequin with m-80 in hand (illegal)

(View of man ingiting m-80 in mannequin's hand and then leaving the visual field of the camera. Smoke is released, followed by a loud and sudden explosion which results in the mannequin's hand being destroyed).

(Slow motion footage of the detonation of the m-80 in the mannequin's hand).

TEXT: Watermelon with m-1000 (illegal)

(View of watermelon on a stand in the grass with some smoke being released from it. An explosion occurs, destroying the watermelon. The display label which had been on a stake nearby in the ground is knocked off of the stake by the explosion).

(The same explosion is shown from a greater distance, which shows some pieces of watermelon being flung away from the stand when the explosion occurs).

(The same exposion is played in slow motion, which shows many pieces of watermelon being flung from the area in a plume of smoke).

TEXT: Mannequin in house m-1000 (illegal)

(View of mannequin seated in a walled-in area, hands on a desk in front of it. An explosion occurs which knocks the mannequin back and dismembers it, also knocking the curtain behind it off of the wall).

(Slow motion footage of the same explosion shows the mannequin's arm being thrown out of the room and the top of the desk lifting up and then falling down, out of place).

TEXT: Professional Aerial Shell with Quickmatch Fuse

(View of mannequin standing over a block, surrounded by cinder blocks and a tarp hanging behind it. An explosion on the block pushes the mannequin back and takes off the mannequin's head, leaving a mark on the tarp in the background).

(A slow-motion view of the same explosion shows a burst of flames and smoke with the explosion followed by falling pieces of mannequin that have been destroyed by the blast. This is followed by a close-up view of the mannequin following the explosion. A stump is left where the head had been and material from the shirt it was wearing has been burned off).

TEXT: Quickmatch Fuse and Safety Fuse Comparison

(View of man lighting the end of a long fuse that has been attached to a propped-up board, then running away from it. Following a few seconds of light smoking, a plume of smoke is released and a flame can be seen darting across the board, following the path that had been laid out by the fuse. The burn time is very short, and the smoke quickly begins to blow away from the board, which now only has a few hanging pieces of singed material hanging from it).

TEXT: Professional Aerial Shell with Quickmatch Fuse

(View of a mannequin standing in a small area enclosed by cinder blocks on the ground and a tarp held up behind it. Almost immediately an explosion occurs and the mannequin's head is destroyed again. The same explosion is shown from a greater distance, and then again in slow motion).

End.