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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 and Orange <br />County fire departments to supplement OCFA's own fireworks data. <br />Injury data was solicited from a total of 25 hospital emergency rooms and 118 urgent care facilities <br />throughout Orange County for the study period of June 30th-July 5, 2021. This year, we received <br />responses from 15 hospital emergency rooms and 2 urgent care facilities, for an overall response <br />rate of 11 %. 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 very likely that many more injuries occurred that were either not treated or not reported. <br />National statistics extracted from the most recent 2020 CPSC Fireworks Report were also used for <br />a comparison study. <br />Fireworks -related fire incident and property loss information was gathered from 11 out of 11 <br />Orange County municipal fire departments, for a response rate of 100%. Narratives from the 51 <br />fireworks -related incidents that OCFA responded to were analyzed for qualitative information <br />regarding the impact of these incidents within Orange County communities. Local online and <br />social media sources were also utilized for information regarding fireworks -related injuries and <br />incidents in 2021. <br />4 <br />