The recall involves 18 consumer fireworks. The brand name, product name and the item number are printed on the outside wrapping of the firework.
According to the recall, the items were sold at Grandma’s Fireworks in West College Corner, Ind., between January 2009 and April of this year. There were no online sales.
The recall cites the 8- and 12-year-old Oxford boys who “found the broken end of a Talon rocket, lit it and were hurt. The 8 year old boy lost his hand.”
While the recall says the fireworks were sold at the Indiana store, they are listed as manufactured in China.
The Oxford Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives investigated these fireworks and worked with CPSC to initiate the recall.
Oxford Police Lt. Lara Fenning said as part of the department’s investigation, firework devises were purchased from Grandma’s Fireworks for comparision, and that information was included in the investigation file. Federal investigators became interested and continued the investigaiton.
“This was new to us, we had no idea they were investigating. We just found out about it ourselves last week,” Fenning said.
With the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, Fenning said the recall is timely and can serve as a reminder about firework safety.
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“About a week before Fourth of July we get a lot of fireworks complaints,” Fenning said. “With this information, and it being fresh in everybody’s mind … it works out really well.”
Police said the boys discovered the firework in the alley in the 100 block of East Withrow Street and described it as silver colored and the shape and size of a baseball.
Shortly after the incident on March 21, one of the boys, Caleb Bogan, told police he noticed the wick was short and charred when he attempted to light it with a lighter he picked up off the street earlier in the evening. After he put a flame to the wick, it exploded very quickly while he was holding it, causing severe injuries.
Police said they could not determine from where this firework originated. They said laboratory results revealed that pyrotechnic residue was found on the Bogan’s jacket.
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