July Fourth safety guide for fireworks, heat and water this weekend

By Jennifer Fernandez

CARY — Ginger Peters knows how quickly a simple sparkler can become dangerous. 

The Cary mother of two was celebrating her birthday last September with friends. They each had a sparkler — the thin metal stick that, once lit, spits out sparks until it burns itself out. 

They’re a common sight during the July Fourth holiday, especially in the hands of children.

It took less than 10 seconds for an ash that fell on Peters’ dress to turn into a fast-spreading fire. There wasn’t enough time to comprehend what was happening, she told NC Health News on June 30 after state fire officials debuted a fireworks safety documentary that featured her story.

Her husband, Allen, and a friend immediately began beating back the flames. Allen Peters burned his hands.

Peters said she had third-degree burns over 40 percent of her body. While being treated at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center, her lungs collapsed and she had to be placed on a heart/lung machine. She spent more than two months hospitalized.

“There was multiple times where they were trying to figure out my funeral,” she said in the documentary. “It was very, very serious.”

As North Carolina families prepare to mark the nation’s 250th birthday, they’re likely to spend time outdoors, looking for places to swim to cool off and celebrating with fireworks. 

Nothing can ruin a holiday weekend like an accident, and some simple principles can keep your holiday safe. 

Fireworks safety

In North Carolina, an average of 192 people are treated in emergency departments annually for fireworks-related injuries, according to the North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal. Nearly three-quarters of those injuries happen in July.

Last year, there were at least 15 deaths in the U.S. and about 13,000 injuries treated in emergency rooms that were linked to the misuse or malfunction of fireworks, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Sparklers caused about 1,300 of those injuries.

“Sparklers are probably the most misunderstood product in all of pyrotechnics,” Rob Roegner, chief deputy state fire marshal, said in the documentary.

“These are always given to children thinking that they’re fairly safe for people to use,” Roegner said, adding that sparklers can burn at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to melt some metals. 

“These will immediately burn you, and even after they’re out, they will continue to burn you,” he warned.

Sparklers are among the novelty fireworks — such as fountains, smoke bombs and party poppers — permitted under North Carolina law. The list of illegal devices — anything that explodes or is projected into the air — includes firecrackers, ground spinners, bottle rockets, Roman candles, mortars, M-80s and aerial fireworks. 

Although sparklers are legal, Peters encouraged people to stay away from them and to throw out any that are in the house.

“This can happen in an instant,” Peters said in the documentary. “It can happen to anyone. You can even just be near a sparkler or a firework. It isn’t worth that moment of joy or fun that you may find in it to go through a process like this.”

Fireworks also cause more than 30,000 fires annually, the state fire marshal’s office said. North Carolina will be more vulnerable this year due to dry conditions across much of the state, officials said. More than 80 percent of the state is in a severe to an exceptional drought.

Heat safety

This July Fourth holiday comes on the heels of a series of days with highs in the 90s and some overnight lows only in the 70s. 

Temperatures are expected to stay in the high 90s through early next week. The heat index — the “feels like” temperature when adding in the effects of humidity — could reach as high as 110 degrees for some parts of the state.

As temperatures rise, heat-related illness can become an issue. When it gets too hot outside, the body struggles to self-regulate its temperature, which can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Children, older adults and people who are sick or overweight are more susceptible to heat.  

Symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke include nausea, dizziness, headache, confusion and a rapid pulse. If you suspect someone is suffering from one of these illnesses, take them to a cooler area and have them slowly sip water. Get medical help if symptoms persist.

North Carolina recorded more than 5,700 emergency department visits for heat-related illness from May through September 2025. 

The number of cases is on the rise this year. More than 1,800 people have already sought treatment at emergency rooms across the state from just May 1 to June 28 this year, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. That’s well over the average of 1,363 visits for the same timeframe from 2021 to 2025.

Heat can also lead to death, including when children are left unattended in vehicles.

In May, the N.C. Office of State Fire Marshal presented a “hot cars” display in Greensboro that featured 50 pairs of children’s shoes that represented the number of children who have died of vehicular heat stroke in the state since 1998.

Temperatures can rise quickly inside a vehicle — 20 degrees in 10 minutes — even on a mild day, the fire marshal’s office said. And children are especially vulnerable. Their bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults. That puts them at risk of heat stroke in a matter of minutes.

Officials encouraged families to always look in the backseat before leaving a vehicle. Putting something important, such as a purse or phone, in the backseat could be a good reminder to check the vehicle before leaving. Also, keeping vehicles locked at all times can prevent children from getting inside unsupervised. 

Water safety

Swimming will be one way to cool off over this hot holiday weekend. However, whether it is at a lake, the ocean or a pool, swimming carries the risk of drowning — especially for children. 

In 2024, drowning claimed the lives of 31 North Carolina children, state data shows. After motor vehicle accidents, drowning was the most common accidental death for children ages 1 to 9. 

Nationally, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It is also the second-leading cause of unintentional injury and death among U.S. children overall.  

One of the main rules for water safety is to wear a life jacket. That message is part of the basic training that all second graders get in their swim lessons with the Durham-based nonprofit Swim For Charlie. 

Anyone celebrating July Fourth around water should follow that rule, said Jon Klein, board chairman and president of Swim For Charlie. 

“If you are not a good swimmer, and you’re near water, you need to be wearing a life jacket,” he said.

“And that life jacket can’t just be any old life jacket. It has to be the right weight for you,” Klein continued. “You want to make sure that your life jacket is in good shape; it’s not torn or ripped. You want to make sure that … the buckles are through the loops, and that …all the snaps are snapped, and that it’s pulled tight.

“As I tell the kids, if it’s not tight, it’s not right.” 

Be watchful even with a small amount of water, like in a kiddie pool, for instance, Klein said.

“It does not take a lot of water to drown a child, especially a small child,” he said.

Above all, don’t panic.

“What happens when we panic, and we’re in water over our head? We get hard and tense, like a rock. And what do rocks do? Well, they tend to sink,” he said.

“We want to try to stay calm and think about what we have to do,” Klein continued. “Most of the time that’s getting on our back, so we have air. We can get into a back float and navigate to [safety], or call out for help.”

Swim For Charlie has served more than 4,800 students since it began in 2020. The nonprofit, which offers free water safety and swimming instruction, is adding more schools and pools in the fall, Klein said. 

He said learning to swim from a qualified instructor reduces the risk of drowning by 88 percent among children ages 1 to 4.

“How many other medical interventions, public health interventions, are that effective?” Klein asked.

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