6 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Since Tuesday, June 27, the first day of firework sales in Sedgwick County, Ascension Via Christi says its Regional Burn Center has treated 20 patients for firework-related injuries.
Of those 20 injuries, 13 were related to mortar/aerial fireworks injuries, which were legalized in Wichita this year. Last year, there were only two.
According to Ascension Via Christi, six of the 20 injuries were children under the age of 17, including a 9-month-old.
Sedgwick County 911 says they had their non-emergency line open six days this year, rather than the usual five, due to how the Fourth of July fell in relation to the weekend.
From June 27 to the Fourth of July, Sedgwick County 911 says they received 705 calls to the non-emergency line this year, compared to the 1,224 calls last year.
“We had a slight dip in emergency calls, too, which was a slight relief, with 1,666 emergency calls on the actual Fourth compared to 1,805 on July 4, 2022,” Sedgwick County 911 said. “While it was slower, it was still a very, very busy day with 295 calls coming in during the 10 p.m. hour, which was our busiest hour of the day. Comparatively, we had 119 calls during our busiest hour the day before.”
Sedgwick County 911 also provided the following numbers:
Operational PeriodEmergency CallsNon-Emergency Line (1800-0300)Fireworks Complaints (1800-0300)June 30152210042July 114898064July 214207048July 31523155111July 41666300191July 5N/AN/AN/A705456Courtesy: Sedgwick County 911
Sedgwick County 911 says they had 11 calls for reported house fires, three burns calls and seven loud party complaints.