When it comes to fireworks, it’s always a good idea to exercise more caution than you may believe necessary. An Oklahoma mother lost two fingers on June 19 when a malfunctioning firework exploded in her hand moments after she took it from her 7-year-old daughter. Jessica Kies, a 36-year-old salon owner from Tuttle, has since had multiple surgeries and is sharing what happened to warn other families of the risks associated with the Fourth of July (or any other time fireworks are used).
Kies told Central Oklahoma Weeklies that the firework was a large Roman Candle device, bigger and more powerful than a typical one. Her daughter was holding it when the first projectile was fired and jerked the tube backward. Kies grabbed the device from the frightened girl because her husband’s hands were full at the time. On roughly the second-to-last shot, a projectile failed to clear the tube. She thought the firework had finished, then she felt it move inside the tube, and it exploded in her right hand.
The explosion severed Kies’ pinky and ring finger, fractured a bone in her hand, and left burns across her arm, neck, and chest. She was rushed to a trauma center, where a hand surgeon needed time to plan treatment. Swelling had made the full extent of the damage hard to assess. At the time, she has since had multiple operations, including a skin graft. Her surgeon told her it was among the worst injuries he had seen.
Kies is right-handed, and the injured hand is the one she uses to cut and style hair, so the accident has put her livelihood in question. She’s since paused client appointments, and routine tasks like braiding her daughter’s hair or opening a bottle have become difficult. Her daughter, who was standing a few feet away and had turned toward the house, wasn’t hurt, however, which Kies says she’s grateful for.
Kies’ Difficult Road to Recovery
Doctors haven’t yet determined how much function Kies will regain. Swelling made it hard to gauge the condition of her wrist and remaining fingers, and the surgeon needed time to judge how much of the hand could be saved. She faces more surgery and months of rehabilitation before the long-term effect on her hand is clear.
Specialized scissors may eventually help Kes adapt, though she can’t attempt hairstyling yet and has stopped taking clients. A close friend set up a GoFundMe and a meal train to help cover her medical bills and lost income. Kies said her family will skip fireworks this Fourth of July as she recovers.
How Common Are Firework Hand Injuries?
Kies’ injury fits a pattern federal regulators track closely. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated about 13,000 fireworks injuries in the United States in 2025, along with 15 deaths, most tied to misuse or a device misfire. Hands and fingers are the most frequently injured body parts, at 35% of cases, and burns are the most common injury overall.
Roman candles factor into many of these injuries because they fire several shots from a single tube, which can leave a hand close to the charge. The CPSC advises against holding fireworks unless the instructions call for it, and it warns people never to relight or handle a device that fails to go off, recommending instead that a dud be left alone for about 20 minutes and then soaked in water before disposal.
In Kies’ case, the danger came from a shot that hung in the tube and fired late, the kind of delayed discharge safety officials point to when they urge distance from any lit firework.