Flares
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Medical & Assistance Devices · CPSC Code 1718
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Flares carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 158 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 158
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 15.4%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1718 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for flares - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume158 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)15.4%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+9%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Flares (CPSC product code 1718, in the Home Medical & Assistance Devices category) generate an estimated 158 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 3,008 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (335 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2008 (30 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for flares is burns, thermal to the hand, accounting for approximately 291 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the lower arm (283 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,085 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 15.4% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how flares fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-14 | 252 | 163 | |
| 15-24 | 778 | 307 | |
| 25-34 | 356 | 80 | |
| 35-44 | 235 | 17 | |
| 45-54 | 177 | 0 | |
| 55-64 | 97 | 111 | |
| 65-74 | 301 | 65 | |
| 75+ | 69 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Face | Burns, Thermal | |
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Face | Burn, Not Spec. | |
| Ankle | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Foot | Puncture | |
| Foot | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
49YOM WAS CUTTING A PIECE OF WOOD 2 DAYS AGO THAT HAD A SCREW IN IT AND THE SCREW BROKE OFF IN A PIECE THAT WENT INTO HIS EYE, DX FB TO EYE
15YOM AS LEVEL ONE TRAUMA, PER EMS HE WAS RUNNING FROM A FLARE GUN THAT HE MAY/MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SHOT IN THE BACK WITH. HE RAN INTO THE STREET AND GOT RUN OVER BY A PICKUP TRUCK, UNKNOWN LOC, HE HAS ABRASIONS TO ENTIRE BODY, INJURY TO LEFT KNEE, AND DEFORMITY TO LEFT HIP. DX; KNEE INJURY
60YOF REPORTED WAS BURNED BY FLARE ON HER RIGHT FOOT. DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF RIGHT ANKLE
12YOF PLAYING WITH A FLARE GUN, IT DISCHARGED, NOW SHE HAS A SMALL BURN TO NECK, DX; THERMAL BURN NECK
72 YOF S/P LOWER EXTREMITY INJURY. THE PATIENT STATES THAT EARLIER TODAY SHE WAS CLEANING HER HOME AND FOUND A FLARE GUN--AS SHE WAS HANDLING THE FLARE GUN, SHE STATES THAT THE GUN ACCIDENTALLY FIRED AND STRUCK HER RIGHT ANTERIOR THIGH/GROIN AREA. DX INJURY KNEE, LACERATION RIGHT THIGH
14YOF SHOT IN FACE WITH FLARE GUN AT 3FT AWAY. SISTER ACCIDENTALY SHOT FLARE HITTING PTDX FACIAL , HEAD, NECK BURN 1ST AND 2ND DEGREE, FACIAL ABRASION
44 YOM PRESENTS WITH MULTIPLE SKIN INJURIES AFTER HIS FRIEND DISCHARGED A FLARE GUN. DX: ABRASION SCALP, LACERATION RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER, BURN LEFT ANKLE, PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN LEFT FOREARM
21YOM PRESENTS TO ED FOR CO BURN TO LT LEG PT HAD A FLARE GUN IN HIS POCKED THAT WAS ACCIDENTALLY DISCHARGED SUSTAINED BURNS TO ANTERIOR LT THIGH AND LT ANKLE OCCURED A FEW HOURS PTA DX: BURN
87YOM WAS HANDLING A FLARE GUN ON HIS BOAT WHEN THE FLAIR GUN WENT OFF A FEW DAYS AGO SUSTAINED A THERMAL BURN TO RIGHT HAND THAT GOT INFECTED NOTHING STATED ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DX: THERMAL BURN TO HAND; CELLULITIS TO HAND
38 YOM DROPPED A FLARE BOX ON HIS TOES.DX: CLOSED NONDISPLACED FRACTURE OF PROXIMAL PHALANX OF LESSER TOE OF RIGHT FOOT
64YOF, ACCIDENTALLY SHOT HER SELF IN RIGHT INDEX FINGER WITH FLARE GUN, DX: OPEN FRACTURE DISLOCATION OF FINGER
24 YOM INJURED NECK,LOW BACK,BROUGHT IN FROM JAIL,REPORTEDLY SHOT BY A FLARE GUN MORE THATN A MONTH AGO,WAS RUNNING THROUGH THE WOODS AND WAS TACKLED BY THE POLICE. DX-STRAIN NECK,STRAIN LUMBAR
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to flares on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are flares?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, flares have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 158 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from flares?
The most common injury is burns, thermal to the hand, accounting for approximately 291 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from flares increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for flares injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,085 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by flares?
Of all ER visits involving flares, approximately 15.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (84.6%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with flares?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Medical & Assistance Devices
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
