Study Ranks Ohio Highest for Backyard Fireworks Accident Risk

A study examining fireworks shipments, online search activity and state laws ranked Ohio as the state with the highest risk of backyard fireworks accidents and property damage. The analysis calculated a 3.54 percent chance, or 1-in-28 odds, for an active participant in Ohio.

Researchers linked the elevated risk to the state's per-person fireworks imports of $3.50 and the legality of full aerial cakes and reloadable mortar shells. The study noted that large block parties in Ohio carry the highest statistical chance of a mishap among all states.

The Midwest showed the highest concentration of elevated-risk states. Indiana placed second with a 1-in-34 chance, followed by Missouri at 1-in-36, New Hampshire at 1-in-39 and Kansas at 1-in-40. Missouri recorded the largest total fireworks imports at $85.7 million, or $13.84 per person, and serves as a major distribution point.

Indiana also functions as a conduit for residents from Illinois, where aerial fireworks remain banned.

Massachusetts recorded the lowest risk at 0.02 percent, or 1-in-5,000 odds, which the study attributed to strict enforcement of consumer fireworks bans. Federal records show between 13,004 and 14,700 emergency-room visits nationwide each year. Epidemiologists cited in the study estimate the actual number of minor burns and localized fires treated at home is four to 10 times higher.

Americans consume 322.4 million pounds of fireworks annually.