Cork surgeon warns of firework injuries to children

Consultant reconstructive surgeon Anne McKenna said she has treated child patients who lost parts of limbs and genitals in firework incidents. She spoke about the injuries in an interview on Moncrieff, warning that fireworks and bonfires carry risks around Halloween.

Fireworks are illegal in Ireland, but many are smuggled south from Northern Ireland, where buying and selling them is legal.

McKenna described how bonfires are built from materials found around homes. "People tend to build bonfires with whatever's hanging around, rubbish, stuff from garden sheds, broken down pallets," she said. Children can fall through or off these structures during construction and get hurt.

Burns can happen when bonfires are lit if aerosols, solvents, paint or petrol are inside the fire and suddenly ignite, she said. She has also seen injuries from aerosol cans, which some teenagers use to create flame displays. "If it's a pressurised can, then that can suddenly shoot out like a rocket," McKenna said, noting such incidents can cause head injuries or burns.

McKenna said she has seen devastating injuries from fireworks in child patients over the years. "We have had children losing bits of limbs and bits of genitals, so they're really devastating, which is why they were made illegal in Ireland," she said. She advised people who want to watch fireworks to attend a staged display.