East Bay Man Severely Injured Lighting Firework

ANTIOCH, CA — A man suffered a severe hand injury this morning in Antioch after finding fireworks in a dumpster and lighting them despite being urged not to do so by a co-worker, according to firefighters. Police called firefighters to the 1700 block of Auto Center Drive around 9:25 a.m., Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Hill said.

The victim, a 32-year-old man, had found some kind of firework in the dumpster of an auto body shop and lit it despite being urged not to do so by a co-worker, Hill said.

"He came out in the parking lot and lit it anyway," Hill said. "It exploded."

The man was transported to a hospital "code 3."

"That indicates it was pretty serious," Hill said.

The pyrotechnic device may have been some kind of "Roman candle," according to Hill.

"I would doubt that it was safe and sane, though I do not know," Hill said. "Nonetheless, any kind of fireworks are illegal in Contra Costa County."

"This was a grown man, imagine what something like this would've done to a small child," Hill said. "And by the way, more than half of fireworks injury victims are children."

Hill said things were relatively quiet Wednesday night during the Fourth of July holiday, but that fire risks will escalate over the weekend and unspent fireworks, combined with higher temperatures, lower humidity and windy conditions, could lead to problems.

"We are ever vigilant, especially with those circumstances, to the possibility that we will have more fireworks incidents this weekend."

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By Bay City News Service

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