Experts: Do-It-Yourself Fireworks Cause Thousands Of Serious Injuries Each Year

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Macy's Fourth of July fireworks spectacular and other municipal shows are put on by professionals, but amateur attempts at fireworks displays leave thousands of people injured every year.

As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, even the most innocent-seeming fireworks can be risky.

Jameson Lamb, 19, knows the danger of fireworks firsthand.

"I thought for sure I was going to have to get my eye taken out that night," he said.

Three years ago, Lamb and his friends were setting off Roman candles when something went terribly wrong.

"One of the Roman candle shots ended up hitting me directly in the right eye," he said.

The high school basketball star was blinded. His was one of 87,000 fireworks-related injuries in 2012 – and 60 percent of them occurred in the four weeks around July 4.

"The eye injuries from fireworks can be very severe," said Dr. Anne Sumers of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

While she is an ophthalmologist, Sumers said the danger of fireworks is hardly limited to the eyes.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said more than a third of the time, arms and hands are injured. About 28 percent of the time, it is the trunk or legs, and the remaining 40 or so percent of the time, it is the head and eyes, the commission said.

Overall, more than half of all fireworks-related injuries are burns, which is what caused part of the damage to Lamb's eye.

"It really can happen to you," he said. "You're not immune from it."

Dr. Sumers advised avoiding do-it-yourself fireworks altogether.

"Go to a professional fireworks celebration," she said. "Have a great time, and enjoy your Fourth of July."

Experts also advise never giving fireworks to children. Even seemingly safe sparklers can burn at more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit – enough to melt some metals and cause serious injury.

The risk of fireworks injuries is highest for young people ages 0 to 4, followed by children 10 to 14.