Gardaí have warned that fireworks and bonfires pose the risk of horrific and disfiguring injuries, ahead of Halloween.
There are concerns about the arrival of powerful new fireworks on the black market, some of which are the most powerful ever seen in Ireland.
Gardaí have seized a number of fireworks in recent weeks. However, there are worries about the increase in the supply of fireworks.
Car boot sales and markets are being monitored to ensure illegal fireworks are identified and seized.
The surgery unit of Children’s Health Ireland in Crumlin, Dublin, has revealed that nine children were treated for firework-related burn injuries in the space of just one week in 2024.
Some of the injuries involved were horrific and a number of children underwent plastic surgery to avoid permanent and disfiguring injuries.
One youngster was blinded in one eye by shrapnel, while another suffered serious burns to his face, hands and abdomen.
Doctors have backed making the notification of firework-related injuries mandatory.
Halloween bonfires pose a similar threat of injury. One teenager in Cork was injured during an incident earlier this month when a bonfire exploded after an aerosol canister was placed in a bonfire. The boy suffered burn injuries to his head.
Illegal fireworks, mostly sourced from China and Eastern Europe, have increased in size and power. A large number have been found to have faulty fuses, which expose users to extreme risk of burn injuries.
Over the past decade, gardaí have seized illegal fireworks with a value of nearly €300,000. Almost 1,300 firework caches were seized between 2014 and 2024 under Operation Tombola, a nationwide operation focused on tackling illegal incendiaries.
Several Chinese-made fireworks have been described as resembling small missiles, with the potential to blow off limbs if they are ignited prematurely.
Gardaí said anyone caught supplying such illegal and potentially dangerous fireworks could face prosecution.
“Those who attempt to profit from the sale of illegal fireworks by putting them into the hands of those that are not licensed to safely use them are proactively targeted by gardaí nationwide,” a spokesperson said.
Over the past decade, people have suffered third-degree burns and have lost fingers and parts of limbs because of accidents with illegal fireworks
Concerns are also growing that some cheap Halloween outfits being sold on the black market do not adhere to safety standards and could pose choking or fire hazards.
Some fireworks have been described by gardaí as “so dangerous as to be potentially lethal”.
Most fireworks-related injuries involve minor burns. However, hospitals have recorded life-changing injuries inflicted by black-market fireworks. Some injuries have been so severe they have required the amputations of fingers and parts of hands.
In 2017, a young woman in Dublin suffered serious burn injuries when a firework was lit and deliberately dropped in her hood as a prank.
In Northern Ireland, a young woman lost several fingers when a lit firework exploded before she could throw it.
Other injuries have been caused by faulty fuses or fireworks igniting in a fraction of the time indicated on the label.
Gardaí warned that, in some cases, quality control is virtually non-existent, with fireworks igniting just seconds after fuses are lit.
“Anyone who uses one of these illegal fireworks is risking their safety and the safety of others,” a spokesperson warned.
“These fireworks are illegal, they are a danger to public health and they can result in the most catastrophic health consequences.
“Anybody who uses them are fools because it is a risk to their health and safety – not to mention the health and safety of innocent people around them.”
One firework, “Fire Devil”, has been described as a pyrotechnic missile. Another is called “Flaming Dragon” and involves multiple detonations, but the product has been reported to have faulty fuses.
Gardaí pointed out that illegal fireworks are also potentially frightening to the old, vulnerable and those living alone.
Animal welfare groups have warned that fireworks used in urban settings can cause enormous distress to pets.