Fireworks Recall 2019: Indiana Boy Loses Hand After Lighting Grandma's Fireworks Rocket

Three months after two young boys from Oxford, Indiana, were injured after using firework, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ordered the 25,000 units of Grandma's Fireworks to be recalled, Wednesday. The order issued for the company based in West College Corner came days before the 4th of July celebrations – one of the most profitable periods of the year for fireworks sellers.

Caleb Bogan, 12, and his friend, 8-year-old friend Brendon Jones, were riding on a bike on March 21 when they came across the faulty product. “Then we were riding by the hospital near the college, we were going to go home, I saw a shiny ball thing on the ground, I picked it up, it had a big, green wick on it. When I tried to light it again, it blew up,” Bogan told Fox19.

While the explosion damaged Bogan’s entire left hand, the index finger of his right hand, part of his chin and several teeth, his friend reportedly escaped with minor injuries. There were conflicting reports regarding the harm that befell the two boys. While most of the news reports said the 12-year-old sustained severe injuries, according to the recall order released by CPSC, the explosion cost the 8-year-old his hand.

After the Oxford Police Department partnered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives to investigate the incident, authorities found that the fireworks sold by the company between January 2009 and April 2019 were "overloaded with pyrotechnics intended to produce an audible effect, violating the federal regulatory standard for this product."

The explosion from the fireworks was enhanced resulting in a higher risk of injury – something that Grandma’s Fireworks was apparently not aware of since the manufacturer of the products in China had mislabeled them.

"I think the hard thing is that we are always so careful, and we're both grandma's and we have really, really tried hard. So, when we heard that was something from us, we were both crushed," said Chris Hannon, co-owner of Grandma's, NBC-affiliated WLWT reported. "We were doing everything by the book. Everything that the government says is on recall has '1.4,' which means it's consumer fireworks, which we are licensed to sell."

The commission also determined that the firework that caused injuries to the two boys in March was the end of a Talon rocket, which was one of the products included in the list issued by the authorities. Apart from Talon, other items of Grandma’s Fireworks which were recalled are Rise in the East, Safe cracker, Angry Elf, Mamba, Crazy King, POW!, Bang, Crazy Robot Flowers, Frog Balls, Dragon Artillery, Small Festival Balls, Cock Rises!, Sammy's Best, Katherine’s Catapult, Heavy Bomber, Multiple Rocket, and Block Buster.

“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled fireworks and return them to Grandma’s Fireworks for a full refund,” the recall order stated.

Bogan said he was happy that the faulty fireworks were getting recalled. "I'm glad the fireworks got recalled because I wouldn't want anybody to go through this, because it is not something that you would want to go through," he said, adding that his family wanted him to wait till he grew up to get a prosthetic hand.