Consumer Product Safety Comm. demo AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
The first report of a serious firework injury in the area comes from South Chicago where a 28-year-old man was critically injured last night.
The unidentified man was attempting to explode a fireworks device. After he lit it and it didn't detonate, police say he picked up the device to take a look.
It exploded near his face and he was taken to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn with massive facial injuries.
Police are still investigating but suspect the device may have been an M-series device, a type of explosive that more closely resembles a stick of dynamite than a firecracker.
Firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets and other aerial exploding fireworks are all illegal in Illinois. Smoke bombs, snakes and sparklers are legal, though some jurisdictions have banned the sale of sparklers due to the risk of burns.
Below is a video on the dangers of illegal fireworks put together by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which puts out an annual alert this time of year. Click on the CPSC link and you'll see Illinois has some of the strictest fireworks laws in the country.
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