The death of a 3-year-old boy in Honolulu, Hawaii, in a fireworks explosion brings the death toll to 4 people; more than 20 injured

HONOLULU– A 3-year-old boy who died Monday was the fourth person to succumb to injuries from a massive fireworks explosion on New Year’s Eve at a Honolulu home, and a doctor said six more People faced a long recovery in Arizona, where they were sent for treatment. treated for serious burns.

The explosion killed three women and injured more than 20 people, many of whom suffered burns over most of their bodies.

The U.S. military transported six of the injured to Phoenix for treatment Saturday because Hawaii’s only burn center does not have enough capacity to treat all the victims.

After the disaster, Hawaii leaders stepped up their oft-repeated calls to crack down on the state’s vast illegal fireworks trade by tightening controls and imposing more penalties.

The six people taken to Arizona are all between 20 and 30 years old and have significant burns, Dr. Kevin Foster, director of the Arizona Burn Center, said in a news conference streamed online.

The person with the fewest has burns over 45% of their body, while the person with the most has burns over almost 80% of their body. Each of the six people is using a breathing tube and most are in a medically induced coma.

Foster said they are all doing “very well” and have good vital signs. But it will be six months to a year before anyone can return to anything resembling a normal life, Foster said. Four patients will likely remain intubated and in a coma for months, he said.

Patients will likely suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, Foster said, adding that the burn center has two full-time psychologists and a psychiatric hospital to help them.

“There’s something unique and particularly horrific about being burned, especially from this type of injury,” Foster said. “And we anticipate that all of these patients will have adjustment problems.”

Many required emergency surgery before leaving Hawaii and a number suffered traumatic injuries in addition to burns, due to the resulting explosions and projectiles, he said.

The Arizona Burn Center operated on all six patients on Sunday, performed three more surgeries on Monday and plans three more on Tuesday. By then, doctors should have finished removing the burns and will move on to wound closure and skin grafting, Foster said. Infections are the most dangerous and feared complication for burn patients, he said while predicting that all would likely suffer them at some point.

“That’s exactly how burns work, especially when you have burns like this that are a significant percentage of the total body surface area,” Foster said.

The scars, and the physical limitations that come with them, will likely be the biggest thing patients will have to deal with and are what will make these injuries lifelong, he said.

Foundations affiliated with the burn center and the hospital it is part of, Valleywise Health, provide housing for patients’ loved ones. Some burn center employees have even offered their own housing, Foster said.

Hawaii’s diverse population has long celebrated the New Year with fireworks, but in recent years, professional-grade aerial explosives have gained popularity, even though they are illegal for amateurs. Oahu’s neighborhoods light up for hours as residents launch aerial fireworks into the sky from the narrow streets in front of their homes.

Honolulu authorities say a person attending a party ignited a beam of aerial fireworks, which fell on its side and fired explosives into two crates containing extra antennas. Video of the resulting explosion shows a rapid series of explosions shooting fireworks into the air and around the front of a home.

Hawaii counties have different rules about other types of fireworks. On Oahu, the state’s most populous island, only certain types of firecrackers are allowed to be used during specific times, on New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and the Fourth of July. However, many locals set off fireworks of all kinds throughout the year.

Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this report.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.