‘I could have died,’ man shares firework horror story
Jun 28, 2012, 4:21 PM | Updated: Jun 29, 2012, 11:12 am
These jeans were worn by Trevor McCaffree, 24, when an illegal firework exploded in his face, sending shrapnel through his body and severing his right index finger. (97.3 KIRO FM Photo/Brandi Kruse)
(97.3 KIRO FM Photo/Brandi Kruse)
Trevor McCaffree looks over the remains of his tattered,
blood-stained jeans.
“They’re a good conversation starter,” he said, pulling
them from a Harborview Medical Center bag that contained
his personal effects.
McCaffree, 24, was airlifted to the hospital on Fourth of
July in 2007 after a homemade firework exploded in his
face.
The illegal explosive, known as a “Sparkler Bomb,” sent
shrapnel into his arms and legs. It tore through his right
knee, caused third-degree burns and blew off an inch of
his right index finger.
“I looked at my finger and I could see the tip of the
bone,” he said.
First responders describe McCaffree as looking “like a
porcupine.” The hundreds of sparklers he had taped
together to form the explosive were sticking out of his
body.
“I didn’t realize the volatility of it until it happened,”
he said. “I could have died.”
Even five years later, the scars are quite visible. He
walks with a slight limp.
“Trevor was really lucky he didn’t lose his eyesight. He’s
lucky he didn’t have more damage to his knee, to his
finger, to his body,” said Tim Perciful, public
information office for Mountain View Fire and Rescue.
According to the State Patrol, incidents involving
“Sparkler Bombs” increased by 90 percent in 2011. There
were 19 reported incidents last year statewide compared to
10 the year before.
Perciful hopes McCaffree’s story can serve as an example
of how dangerous a firework can be, even those that are
legal. He acknowledged that few people listen to yearly
warnings from agencies such as his own about the hazards.
“A simple little firework can go off if it’s used wrong or
if you’re not paying attention,” said Perciful, who
recommends that families attend public firework displays
rather than create their own.
As for McCaffree, it’s unclear if he has learned his
lesson.
“I would still do it again,” he said of lighting off a
“Sparkler Bomb,” although he acknowledged that he would be
more careful.
He said the urge to cause such a powerful explosion is
hard to resist, calling it “primal.”
