June 27, 2019
Once again, the Minnesota Medical Association is urging Minnesotans to leave the lighting of fireworks to the professionals this Fourth of July.
“Every year more and more Minnesotans are ending up in the emergency department when they get hurt setting off fireworks,” said MMA President Doug Wood, MD. “We’d prefer that they leave these often-unpredictable devices to the professionals.”
According to 2017 data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, on average, 280 people go to the emergency department every day with fireworks-related injuries in the month around the July 4th holiday. Thirty-six percent of the injuries involved children under the age of 14. The most commonly injured body parts included: hands and fingers (31 percent); head, face and ears (22 percent); legs (17 percent) and eyes (14 percent).
“We’d prefer that fireworks weren’t available commercially,” Wood said. “As long as they are, we strongly recommend that Minnesotans leave them to the experts who are trained in handling them.”
September 30, 2026
Dania Kamp MD, of Sturgeon Lake, was installed as the Minnesota Medical Association’s (MMA) 160th president on September 25, during the association’s Empowering Physicians event at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Her term, which officially begins October 1, lasts one year.
September 29, 2026
Five physicians, two physicians-in-training, a state senator, and two firearm safety advocacy organizations were all honored with Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) awards as part of the association’s Empowering Physicians event on September 25. Each year, the MMA honors those in medicine for going above and beyond.
June 29, 2026
This Fourth of July, Minnesota physicians are once again urging their fellow Minnesotans to leave the fireworks up to the professionals.