Everyone knows that fireworks are dangerous but even the small innocent gun caps are also dangerous. A mother of a child who got burned last Purim wants to spare us the pain her son experienced so here is what she writes plus pictures of the injuries. Warning the pictures are not pretty.
“Look what innocent red little caps can do. Last Purim it was not a happy time. There was a great explosion, a lot of smoke and my son's pants went up on fire from some caps that were in his pocket. My son's hand and both of his legs got burnt and it was a miracle the pants didn't keep on burning.”
The mother continues: “Everyone knows that fireworks are dangerous but for some reason people think that little red caps are not dangerous. But the companies know very well that they are dealing with explosive material and that's why some of them write very small letters warning against improper use of the caps. So legally they're covered against any lawsuits form injuries caused by explosions and fires. But what about us? Who could even read it who read the warnings? You can see a comparison of a coin to the print. The print is borderline microscopic.”
“At the hospital we met a lot of people that had burns from caps exploding in their pockets. That's because rubbing the caps one against the other is dangerous and hand contact also can warm them up and be even more dangerous. The companies that manufacture these things know very well that this deadly combination of friction with their products can cause an explosion and therefore they write: “Don't leave caps spread out in your pocket. Really? Did you ever see a child keep his cap somewhere else?”
“They also post another ingenious warning: “Don't hold the caps and your hand only in the package.” Can somebody tell me how the caps are supposed to get from the package into the gun?
“And this point is the icing on the cake! It says to “use only under adult supervision,” as if it would help prevent the injury. I was sitting right next to my son when the explosion happened. But the company warns against using it against instructions and that's it they're covered their obligation stops there. And us, we've just begun!
The mother shows a picture of her son’s burnt hand and she asks: “It doesn't look good does it? I'm only showing it to people so they should know to be very careful as the Torah says: “Be very careful with your lives” so the message should sink in.
Who could believe it we're not even talking about big explosive that shake the whole neighborhood but rather just a few innocent little red caps; yes those little ones that we ourselves used when we were kids.”
“But the point is that they're not exactly the same they're made inexpensively in so many different countries in a substandard manner in order to save money. In other words they're not safe to be used. Any touch to these explosive materials can cause them to explode. The picture on top is a picture of the innocent caps that exploded at home. This is what they looked like after the explosion, all burnt and bent out of shape from the fire that melted them. The pain after the explosion is indescribable; shouting, crying, ambulances, water, creams and bandages- and the pain continued for months afterwards.
Healing from a burn is terribly slow and extremely painful, it's a real test of the nerves. Thank G-d my son is totally healed except for a few small scars, but through our story I heard of many others with injuries very similar to my son’s. We don't personally know the other children. But they also suffered when they happened to put caps in to their gun only to have them explode even before they squeezed the trigger and the gun fell and caught on fire!”
“I visited the store to warn them not to sell the stuff and the sales lady said that just yesterday a boy examined a box of caps in the store and they exploded in his hands. Of course the owner refused to stop selling such a profitable item even though it is dangerous.
“Every year the hospitals are full of children that in the best case got burnt and in the worst case actually lost fingers or have serious eye injuries. We should not know from such pain!”
“In summary, don't bring these things into your house at all. Tell your children that even if you see these caps outside they shouldn't go touching them or go near them at all. Don't encourage the sale of these dangerous explosives and ask the merchant who sells them: “How do you plan on taking responsibility for somebody getting injured”?
For related article of Rabbis warning against fireworks click here