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Ginger Peters was celebrating her 39th birthday after a friend’s wedding when the sparkler in her hand appeared to go out and ash fell onto her three-layer polyester dress.
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“I don’t want that dirt on my dress,” she remembers thinking.
So she shook it. Immediately, flames engulfed the dress.
“You don’t feel pain at that moment because it’s all adrenaline,” Peters said.
She initially thought she could just lie down, but firefighters instead took her to the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center to treat third-degree burns that covered 40% of her body.
What followed were months on life support, multiple surgeries and a working recovery.
Peters’ experience last September shows the risks burn specialists say can come with a common holiday tradition. Around the Fourth of July, fireworks-related injuries rise and sparklers can reach temperatures hot enough to cause severe burns.
At the Jaycee Burn Center, that risk shows up every year.
Since 2016, 122 patients have been admitted for fireworks-related injuries, and admissions spike over the holiday. The center treats about four patients a day in July, twice that on the Fourth of July and the day after. Many of the non-fireworks holiday injuries involve grilling accidents, campfires, brush fires and holiday cooking.
Sparklers can burn at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to melt metal, and stay dangerously hot even after they appear to go out, said Derek Miller, nurse education specialist for burn outreach and prevention at the Jaycee Burn Center.
The center also treats injuries from firecrackers and other fireworks that explode before someone can throw them, sometimes resulting in severe burns or finger amputations. Injuries to the hands and eyes are disproportionately common and can leave lasting effects, including permanent vision or function loss.
“They are not all severe enough to be that level of severity … but they’re not uncommon,” Miller said. “Your quality of life is forever affected because of that.”
Severe burn injuries can affect one’s livelihood and ability to function, said Dr. Felicia Williams, a burn surgeon and associate professor in the Department of Surgery at UNC-Chapel Hill. Burns that cross joints on the hands can limit movement and everyday tasks, and eye injuries can sometimes lead to blindness.
Williams said burns can also worsen over time if not properly treated. Injuries can take up to 48 hours to fully develop, and burns that become infected can deepen and require more extensive treatment like surgery.
Peters, who lives in Cary, didn’t realize how serious her injuries were at first.
At the burn center, she underwent eight skin grafts. During treatment, she developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and suffered lung failure. Doctors placed her on an ECMO machine, a life support machine that provides oxygen while the lungs heal.
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Peters spent about two months on life support and left the hospital just before Thanksgiving.
She lost about half of her muscle mass and spent months rebuilding her lung strength and attempting to walk comfortably. June was her first “good month,” she said, when she returned to work running her real estate and property management companies.
“Burns, from what I’ve learned, are one of the most painful things that you can go through,” Peters said. “I’ve been in pretty much constant pain since I got out.”
She now urges families to be cautious during holiday celebrations, advising parents to give children alternatives to sparklers such as glow sticks or bubble wands.
She isn’t trying to stop people from celebrating, just bringing awareness.
Miller also wants people to remember that fireworks injuries don’t just affect the person lighting them.
“About half the time, the people who end up getting injured weren’t the ones who made the decision in the first place,” she said. “It’s really (about) keeping your whole community safe.”
If you’re burned by a sparkler or other firework, Miller recommends the following steps to reduce the impact:
Get medical care for second-degree and third-degree burns, since they have longer healing times and a higher risk of infection.
Williams said common at-home remedies such as butter, oil, shortening and toothpaste do not help burns heal and can make treatment more difficult.
These makeshift treatments can trap heat in the skin and worsen the injury, making it harder for medical providers to properly clean the wound. Williams recommends seeking medical care if there is any uncertainty about the severity of a burn.
Burns can also take up to 48 hours to fully develop, meaning an injury that might look minor can later worsen as blisters form or as deeper damage becomes visible. So when in doubt, get professional medical help.
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