Child remains in hospital with third degree burns after Christchurch fireworks display goes horribly wrong

A four-year-old remains in hospital with third degree burns after the Christchurch incident.

A four-year-old boy remains in Christchurch hospital with third degree burns after a fireworks display at central city church last night went horribly wrong. 

Six people were taken to Christchurch Hospital with injuries. 

All children who were injured have now been discharged, except for Mason Timaloa.

The four-year-olds parents told 1 NEWS they don't blame the organisers of the event, City Church Christchurch. 

The church took to Facebook following the event, stating 'something went wrong with the fireworks. In the interest of public safety the event was stopped and we are investigating what went wrong' on its Facebook page.

WorkSafe has been notified of the incident and is making initial inquiries, a spokesperson said.

The incident has prompted anger from some attendees on a local Facebook community page, including a comment from a woman that was hit with a firework. Another says her friend’s kids went to hospital with injuries. Many have reacted by calling for a ban on fireworks.

People need to be careful using fireworks

Amber Moazzam, who works at the National Burns Centre at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, has operated on people with serious burns from fireworks over the years.

"I think people think that they are quite safe and most people will not have seen an injury before so you get a bit blasé about it," he said.

"I think it is something that we need to inform people that they have to be very careful when using the fireworks and not direct it at other people."

There were 518 claims made to A.C.C for fireworks-related injuries last year. More than $254,781 was paid out for these, as well as for some accidents suffered in 2015 or earlier.

Of last year's claims, 71 were made for sparklers, which are often given to children as a 'safe option'.

Mr Moazzam said fireworks generate intense heat, sparklers themselves reaching temperatures of 2000 degrees Celsius.

"If they're not supervised, it can be really easy to get an injury either to themselves or to other kids who might be close by. Sparklers can be dropped from the hand into the lap, go onto their clothes, and that can immediately catch fire."

Mr Moazzam remembers treating a young man who had an operation after a firecracker went off in his hand, causing a severe burst laceration.

"When he came to us, his muscles were actually hanging out of the wound… he was very lucky to keep his fingers."

He often treats children aged eight to 14 for injuries and says a lack of parental supervision is an issue.

He said public displays are a safer option considering the number of injuries each year, but personal use is a balance of maintaining the enjoyment factor.

Over the last decade, at least half to three quarters of the structure and vegetation fires started by fireworks each year have occurred in November, except for 2009. There were 222 fires ignited by fireworks last year and 325 in 2015. Prior to the Guy Fawkes sale period this year, there'd been 52 fires.

"Our volunteers like a break too so just think about them when you're lighting your fireworks."

Guy Fawkes is an annual source of dread for firefighters like Rachael Thorp, the lower North Island rural manager for Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

She attends many vegetation fires, as well as structural fires, backyard bonfires, and unpermitted fires that spread to buildings over this period.

The warmer months are always a worry for fireworks starting fires, particularly in dry areas including Northland, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Marlborough, Canterbury, Kaikoura, parts of Otago, Southland, she said.

Fireworks are included in fire bans and it's important people check their fire ban status before igniting anything, through sources like checkitsalright.nz, she said.

"Our volunteers like a break too so just think about them when you're lighting your fireworks.

"We're recommending people attend public displays if at all possible, but they're not in every area," she said.

"Young children and animals can be especially frightened with the noise of fireworks."

Safety tips for those lighting fireworks include having a hose or something on stand-by, having no flammable vegetation, liquids or gasses around the area where fireworks are being lit and reading the manufacturers instructions first.

Fireworks bringing trauma to animals

The New Zealand Veterinary Association shares the call for consideration this weekend.

"There's no doubt that fireworks does cause stress and anxiety to a certain amount of our pets," chief veterinary officer Helen Beattie said.

While public displays don't remove fear, anxiousness, and the potential for psychological and physical trauma for pets, Ms Beattie said as the dates are known for these events, pets can be better managed through protection, vet advice and desensitisation programmes.

"When fireworks are stockpiled and let off two to four weeks down the track or even months later, it’s really difficult to help those animals that get really frightened by them," she said.

While the association is calling for a ban on private fireworks use, she said a move to restrict private use to Guy Fawkes on November 5 only, would improve animal welfare.

The government has no plans for law changes on fireworks use.

In 2007, a restriction on purchase to those aged 18 and over, and sparklers only being sold in a fireworks bundle was introduced. The next year legislation to only permit sale of fireworks below 90 decibels on explosion was passed.

Ms Beattie said the government should be adding it to its list of things to achieve in the short term. She said while New Zealand is making significant progress along the welfare spectrum, including recognising sentience in animals, this is an area that needs to change.

"We had a 25,000 signature petition in 2015, I mean there's definitely some appetite in the general public to look at this more closely."

The plight took on a personal element for Ms Beattie when her hunting dog Brynn, who is exposed to guns on a regular basis, was left traumatised by fireworks, 10 days after Guy Fawkes.

Her family went out for dinner, thinking they were in the 'safe zone' after Guy Fawkes to leave Brynn the dog alone. They came home to Brynn with the "incriminating evidence" of a cat door around her neck and a hole in their door after she'd chewed her way inside the house.

A neighbour with fireworks attached to his skateboard was the cause of her oral trauma and anxiety, now an annual phobia that has to be managed by Ms Beattie.

"This just turned her inside out and it was a real turning point for me going, 'It's animals like her that we need to change this,' because she was in a position presumable of just terror."

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