Summoned by uniformed Los Angeles Police Officers at the scene, Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to find a 15 year-old male with critical facial burn injury.
According to witnesses, the boy had been scavenging flammable powder from discarded and unused personal fireworks, adding the volatile mixture to the remnants of a so-called "safe and sane" ground display.
While reportedly attempting to ignite the homemade firework, intense flames suddenly enveloped the boy's entire face, causing deep and painful second-degree burns and severely damaging his eyes.
The injured teen was transported in critical condition by LAFD Paramedics to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach for emergency trauma care, after which he was transferred by private ambulance to a regional burn center.
No other injuries were reported.
It is important to note that the possession or personal use of any firework has been outlawed in Los Angeles since World War II.
Given the unstable nature of personal use fireworks and that items involved may have been altered to even greater instability, Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Squad methodically managed the scene and assisted in key stages of the investigation.
This incident remains under a joint and active investigation by Los Angeles Fire Department Arson/Counter-Terrorism Investigators and Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Criminal Conspiracy Section.
Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
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