A three year old boy has become the fourth fatality following a catastrophic New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion at a home in Honolulu, bringing the death toll to four after the incident which also left over 20 people injured. The blast initially claimed the lives of three women and inflicted severe burns on many victims, some with burns covering most of their bodies.
Due to the limited capacity of Hawaii’s only burn centre, six of the injured were airlifted to Phoenix, Arizona for urgent care last Saturday. Hawaii’s officials have since amplified their calls for a crackdown on the illegal fireworks trade within the state, advocating for more rigorous enforcement and harsher penalties.
At an online press conference, Dr. Kevin Foster, head of the Arizona Burn Center, reported that the six patients, all in their 20s and 30s, are suffering from extensive burns ranging from 45% to nearly 80% of their bodies. Most are under medically induced comas and require breathing tubes, with four expected to remain in this state for several months.
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Despite the severity of their conditions, Dr. Foster noted that they are all doing “very well” with stable vital signs. However, he estimated a recovery period of six months to a year before any could resume a semblance of normal life, reports the Mirror US.
Foster expressed that patients will probably experience post-traumatic stress disorder, mentioning that the burn center boasts two full-time psychologists and a psychiatrist on staff to support them. “There’s something uniquely and particularly horrifying about being burned, especially from this type of injury,” he said.
Many needed emergency surgery even before departing Hawaii, with several sustaining additional traumatic injuries from explosions and flying debris. The Arizona Burn Center operated on all six patients on Sunday, conducted three more surgeries on Monday, and had plans for another three on Tuesday.
Following this phase, the focus will shift towards closing wounds and skin grafting, according to Foster. He warned that infections are a significant threat, predicting that every patient is likely to face them at some stage.
“It’s just the way burn injury works, especially when you have large percent-of-total-body-surface-area burns like this,” Foster asserted. He also shared that the scars and accompanying physical restrictions are poised to be the most challenging hurdles for patients, potentially marking these as lifelong afflictions.
Foundations associated with the burn centre and its parent hospital, Valleywise Health, are offering accommodation for relatives of patients. Some employees of the burn centre have even offered their homes, according to Foster.
Hawaii’s diverse population has a long-standing tradition of celebrating New Year’s with fireworks. However, in recent years, professional-grade aerial explosives, although illegal for amateurs, have gained popularity.
Across Oahu, neighbourhoods light up for hours as residents launch aerial fireworks into the sky from the narrow streets outside their homes. Honolulu authorities report that an individual at a party ignited a bundle of aerial fireworks, which tipped over and fired explosives into two crates containing additional aerials.
Footage of the ensuing explosion shows a rapid succession of blasts propelling fireworks into the air and around the front of a house. Hawaii’s counties have different regulations regarding other types of fireworks.
On Oahu, the state’s most populous island, only certain types of firecrackers are permitted during specific periods on New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year, and Fourth of July. Despite this, many residents set off all kinds of fireworks throughout the year.