Broward Florida man has hand blown off handling pyrotechnics fireworks in pre 4th of July celebrations. Medics are unable to re-attach man’s severed limb.
When the temptation is too much to resist …
A man had his hand blown off over the weekend while handling pyrotechnic fireworks at a South Florida gas station parking lot adjacent to a Lauderdale Lakes shopping mall.
The incident led to first responders rushing the severed body part to the hospital after the man had already sought treatment for his injury. WPLG reported.
Dispatchers were called to the Oakland Shopping Center, Saturday morning, in Broward County, circa 1.am, officials said.
By the time first responders got to the 4400 block of North State Road 7, the un-identified victim ‘had already traveled to a nearby hospital in a private vehicle,’ according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office statement.
‘It wasn’t even like five minutes’
That’s when the fire rescue team ‘transported the man’s hand to the hospital and subsequently transported the man and his hand to Broward Health Medical Center for medical treatment,’ officials said.
It is believed the victim had initially travelled for medical attention without his severed hand. Responding medics recovered the severed body part, where the victim and the the body part were taken to second hospital in the hopes that the limb could be re-attached.
According to an individual who witnessed the fireworks accident, the incident ‘happened suddenly.’
‘It wasn’t even like five minutes, ’cause as soon as he lights it, it exploded,” said the person, according to 7News.
The witness said the man’s hand was not able to be reattached.
‘They couldn’t do nothing,’ the witness said.
The episode comes just days after Broward officials launched a public campaign last week, pleading with residents to leave pyrotechnics to professionals.
Battlefield injuries
‘Go enjoy the fireworks with your family and we dissuade the public from shooting off fireworks on their own,’ Broward County Sheriff Fire Battalion Chief Michael Kane told reporters.
To stress his point, Kane and his bomb squad blew up watermelons with illegal fireworks to demonstrate the danger.
Wounds from fireworks could be ‘compared to battlefield injuries,’ Kane added.
Officials said the man was lucky not to be killed during the ‘mishap.’
‘It could have been his feet, it could have been his head, it could have been his whole body,’ the individual who witnessed the fireworks accident said. ‘You know, it’s Fourth of July. Everybody wants to have fun, but safety first.’
