On Thursday evening, Leil Rosh Chodesh Adar, a 16-year-old Charedi boy from Jerusalem named Ezra, almost lost his eyes when a firecracker that he was attempting to light, exploded in his face.

Firecrackers are a very common commodity for Charedi children and teens to play with during the month of Adar and leading up to Purim. The contraband explosives are unfortunately fairly accessible and incredibly dangerous. They can cause severe injuries as Ezra learned the hard way.

Ezra was with his older brother when the incident occurred. “I was with my brother and a few friends and we went to the soccer field to light the firework. This is my first time using one, but I see my friends do it all the time and nothing ever happened to them,” explained Ezra as he was recuperating in the emergency room in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

“The firework we were using is called Ramadan. It has a short fuse and a large flame. It took a while to light, so I focused on lighting the fuse and brought my face close to the firework. Suddenly, the fuse caught and the whole thing exploded in my face before I could get away.”

Dr. Sa’ar Chashavia, who heads the pediatric department in Hadassah Ein Kerem said: “We received a notification that Ezra was on his way, and I can’t say that during this time of year I was surprised. Sadly, we receive numerous cases of children suffering from severe injuries to their limbs, eyes, and other injuries due to using firecrackers. Ezra sustained injuries to his eyes and his forehead. He sustained a burn that thankfully wasn’t larger or more serious. It is important that everyone understands the dangers of these things. A simple game can result in a serious and long-lasting injury that children will have to bear with for a long time.”

Ezra added: “In truth, my parents tell me time and again to stay away from firecrackers. My dad even sat down and had a talk with me about it recently because Purim is coming. he was always emphasizing how dangerous they could be. Sadly, I didn’t listen to them. For years I saw kids playing with them and nothing happening. I thought that nothing would happen to me s well. I was wrong.”