A Long List of Fireworks-Related Injuries Reported by Honolulu EMS on “Brutal” New Year’s Night

At least eight individuals were critically injured by illegal pyrotechnics, according to Oahu’s first responders, making it one of the busiest new year’s starts in recent memory.

Additionally, there were 15 attacks, including one stabbing and hundreds of calls for people having trouble breathing. How many of the attack victims were connected to New Year’s celebrations was not immediately known by authorities.

It was a “pretty brutal night,” according to Dr. Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Services. Josh Mooney, a resident of Hawaii Kai, was one of many people who viewed the fireworks display at Waipahu.

“At midnight, there’s a 365-degree view of show-quality fireworks going out; it’s spectacular,” Mooney remarked.

To avoid a repeat of last year, when the motorway transformed into a parking lot with people getting out to view the fireworks, tow trucks and police officers parked on the H-1’s shoulder.

At least a dozen injuries caused by fireworks were reported across the island, and Honolulu EMS responded. People aged 12 and even older in their mid-50s needed medical assistance.

There were life-threatening injuries this year from people hit by aerial fireworks, not disabling, still extremely significant injuries, according to Ireland.

When fireworks exploded close to a 55-year-old guy’s face on Ewa Beach, EMS was called to the scene. The man had lost his vision. In critical condition, they brought him to the hospital. In another incident, a firework that went off close to a man’s chest and face caused the 36-year-old Waipahu resident to lose part of his teeth. Honolulu personal injury attorneys, too, had a busy time.

According to Ireland, there have been significantly more upper extremity injuries this year. He said, “Mostly in the face, which caused devastating craniofacial injuries but also in the genitals and in the neck, in the extremities, a variety of patients were struck by aerials.”

Ireland expressed his concerns over aerial fireworks that are frequently high-caliber. They are prohibited and experts in handling fireworks may or may not use them. These are projectiles, and they frequently detonate at their destination. And the injuries are catastrophic if they enter a human body.

Instead of seeking to discourage people from lighting off fireworks themselves, Honolulu police concentrated their efforts before the holiday on preventing people from stopping on roadways to watch the fireworks.

Ireland claims that due to a staffing shortage, EMS crews had to make efficient use of their time by attending to numerous patients on the site before responding to the next call.

He expressed gratitude to the EMS for stepping in to assist and save lives last night instead of staying at home with their families, but it’s their duty. To stop people from parking to watch the fireworks, HPD officers were seen patrolling the H-1 Freeway. Residents had been informed that, if necessary, officials would relocate automobiles violently. One watcher captured a large queue of tow trucks waiting to do that on Saturday night.

On New Year’s Eve, there were also more calls for the Honolulu Fire Department. A house fire connected to fireworks was one of them.

Thanks to the prompt actions of a neighbor who observed a firework hit the roof and witnessed the fire starting, HFD Capt. Malcolm Medrano told the reporters that the residence only sustained minimal damage.

According to fire officials, the rise underscores the constant necessity of a “complete statewide prohibition” on consumer aerial fireworks and firecrackers. However, some doubt whether it will be enough to curtail fireworks use illegally.