PULLMAN, Wash. — A Pullman man in his 20s suffered life-threatening injuries after a firework exploded and injured his leg on July 4.
The man was bracing the tube on his thigh when the explosion happened and apparently severed an artery. Neighbors who were watching the fireworks tried to stop the bleeding with direct pressure.
Assistant Chief Ryan Scharnhorst with the Pullman Fire Department said a Pullman Police officer used a tourniquet to apply the pressure high on the man's leg which may have saved the man from bleeding out.
The man was transported to Pullman Regional Hospital where doctors stabilized him. He was then flown in a LifeFlight helicopter to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center for surgery.
Pullman Fire responded to several fires on July 4 that were said to be caused by fireworks. In a press release, the Pullman Fire Department said the largest wildfire caused by fireworks this weekend burned about an acre of land on SE Clearwater Drive and SE Bypass Drive.