Fireworks-Related Injuries in Iran: A Survey Following the 2014 New Year’s Festival in Tabriz

BACKGROUND: Iranian people celebrate the last Wednesday eve of the year as Chaharshanbe Suri and use explosives and firecrackers as part of this festival. OBJECTIVES: This study concerned fireworks injuries related to the Chaharshanbe Suri festival in Tabriz, a provincial capital in East Azerbaijan, Iran, to evaluate the epidemiology and provide data to prevent and manage these accidents. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was comprised of patients who were treated at the emergency department of Tabriz Sina hospital with burn injuries related to fireworks. The patients’ demographics, time of the accidents, locations of the burns, and the type of explosive were recorded. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients were seen in the emergency department. The mean age was 17.16 ± 9.1, ranged from 3 to 36. Forty patients were male (81.6%) and 9 were female (18.4%). Twenty-one patients had second degree burns (47.7%), 10 patients had first degree burns (22.7%), 9 patients had third degree burns (20.5%), and 4 patients had first and second degree burns (9.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that walking in the streets or driving with open windows can be dangerous in Iran during Charshanbe suri.