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Fourth of July festivities turned bloody for one Florida man.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office was called to a South Florida gas station around 1 a.m. Saturday after reports of a fireworks explosion, according to officials. When officers arrived, the victim had already been taken to the hospital.
His hand was still at the scene.
“As soon as he light it, it went off in flames,” a friend told Local 10.
“He was in shock, but he was calm. It was like his hand was bleeding, we put ice, we tied his elbow so less blood flow.”
Responding officers rushed the hand to the hospital and then both man and appendage were transferred to Broward Health Medical Center.
A spokesperson for the hospital did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily News Monday but the friend said that surgeons were unable to reattach his hand.
Police are still investigating what exactly happened with the fireworks that caused the explosive scene to go wrong.
Between 2006 and 2021, fireworks-related injuries rose by 25% in the U.S., according to estimates from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Last year alone, at least nine people died and an estimated 11,500 were injured in incidents involving fireworks.
Experts warn people playing with fireworks to keep water handy nearby in case of fire, move to a safe distance immediately after lighting a spark and to never use fireworks while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
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