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Background and Methodology <br />Each year following the Independence Day holiday, the Orange County Fire Authority gathers <br />data in order to analyze the overall impact of fireworks throughout Orange County. The <br />information included in this report was contributed by hospital emergency rooms, urgent care <br />facilities and Orange County Fire Departments to supplement OCFA's own fireworks data. <br />Injury data was solicited from a total of 25 hospital emergency rooms and 103 urgent care facilities <br />throughout Orange County for the study period of June 30th-July 5, 2018. This year, we received <br />responses from 3 urgent care facilities and 11 hospital emergency rooms, for an overall response <br />rate of 9%. OCFA's own Emergency Medical Services data was also analyzed for injuries related <br />to fireworks. The fireworks injuries contained in this report are only those that were reported to <br />us; it is likely many more injuries occurred that were either not treated or not reported. National <br />statistics extracted from the most recent 2017 CPSC Fireworks Report were also used for a <br />comparison study. <br />Fireworks -related fire incident and property loss information was gathered from 10 out of 11 <br />Orange County municipal fire departments, for a response rate of 90%. Narratives from the 69 <br />fireworks -related fire incidents that OCFA responded to were analyzed for qualitative information <br />regarding the impact of these incidents within Orange County communities. Local newspaper and <br />social media sources were also utilized for information regarding fireworks -related injuries and <br />various fire -related incidents that were caused by fireworks. <br />4 <br />