Brian Mullins, a successful Raleigh Wedding Photographer, understands how important ambiance is to clients. In his words, “Unless you shoot weddings exclusively in forests or gasoline factories, you’ve probably had the joy of photographing a ‘sparkler exit’ or two in your career.” They are pretty, make for great photos and, at least in his experience in the Raleigh/Durham, NC area, are very, very popular if the reception venues allow them. You probably already know that, yes, they are hot, but Brian recently learned exactly how hot and extremely dangerous they are while helping arrange guests for an exit during one of his shoots.

A word of warning, this story contains some VERY graphic descriptions and photos of what can happen when sparkler exits don’t go as planned. What follows is Brian’s story, by Mr. Mullins himself.

It was April of 2014, and wedding season was in full swing for us in Raleigh. With it being at the early part of our wedding season, I noticed I was a bit more fatigued then usual later in the evening, but it had also been a long day (about 11 hours) so I was glad when the last song was over and I walked down the stairs to help setup for the sparkler exit.

The venue staff was handing out sparklers to the guests and asking them to line up outside. Our usual process has always been to grab a handful of sparklers and pass them to guests that forgot to grab one, as well as a couple for myself so I could help light others sparklers further down the line. We want to make sure we get as many sparklers going as possible for the best photos and it just helps the entire process go faster. The sparklers were the shorter “fourth of July” types and not the longer wedding sparklers that are the “recommended” type for this use. I also found out they burned “blue” instead of the traditional yellow. I was thinking to myself this would look really cool and should match the color temperature of my flash better then the yellow. As it turns out that means the chemical composition is different and as I soon discovered, more “volatile” then traditional sparklers.

I lined everyone up into two lines outside when I got the signal the couple was ready to come out. People started lighting their sparklers and, to be honest, I don’t really remember what happened next. I know I had a bunch (9-10) of sparklers in my hands prior to that moment and one of two things happened, either I lit them or a guest lit them ( I was told two different things by two different people) but the end result was the same. An instantaneous searing, burning and overwhelming pain in my right hand, a large fireball that scorched my face & hair and a ton of confusion… it turns out the sparklers exploded in my hand. I remember throwing the sparklers as fast as possible but my hand didn’t quite work so they just kind of dropped. I took a look at my hand (this was outside, at night) and could see it was scorched black, misshapen and my skin felt very odd. Someone came over and started yelling at me to look at my hand while grabbing at it which added to the confusion (at the time). I don’t really remember the exact sequence of details because I was in intense pain and the couple had just appeared at the doorway, so my only thought process was only to “get the shot,” so I shrugged him away while uttering some form of grunt or other noise (that was most likely unpleasant). As the bride & groom started walking I lifted my camera and got ready to fire the first shot.

I tried pressing the shutter with my index finger and, for lack of a better way to say it, it didn’t work. I couldn’t bend my finger enough to actually depress the shutter. Thinking as fast as I could, I switched to my middle finger. No bueno. Ring finger? Hell no. C’mon pinky, you can do it! YES!! My pinky still worked so I shot around 30 frames, hammering away with no thought of composition, artistry, flash recycle time or anything other then trying to keep them somewhat in the frame.

The couple made it to the car and I couldn’t take it anymore (I missed the car shot). I RAN to the bathroom to put water on my hand. Looking at it inside in the light, it was worse then I thought. My hand was almost completely black, the skin was thickened and very hard and three of my fingers and thumb would barely move. I washed off as much soot as I could with the water then went back upstairs to get some ice, find my partner (Jenn), pack up and go to the hospital. I didn’t realize it at the time but I was in the early stages of shock at this point so I resembled the behavior of the walking dead. I told Jenn what happened, and she immediately got the DJ to help her pack up and we got to the car as fast as possible. We talked about which hospital to go to and agreed on the closest one to our studio.

So, one thing about emergency rooms. People tend to treat them as their primary care physicians so, when I arrived, people were waiting for non-emergent issues (fevers, flu, etc). I got triaged, told it was only first degree and they offered me some ibuprofen for the pain… (yeah, great service there). After about 45 minutes of waiting, without any movement in the line of people in front of us, Jenn convinced me to go to another hospital. As we were walking out, I went into full fledged shock. Started slurring my words, shivering uncontrollably and had difficulty walking. We arrived at the next hospital, told them what happened and they immediately got me into a wheelchair, gave me a warm blanket (oh my god that was the 2nd best feeling ever) and brought me back into a triage room. The resident came in shortly after, asked what happened, took one look at my hand and promptly left to get the attending physician. When she came in, she immediately started telling me I had received 2nd & 3rd degree burns to my hand, which burned the tendons and was the reason I couldn’t move my fingers (along with the thickening of the skin). They were not equipped to treat burns this serious and they had called an ambulance to take me to the UNC burn center. (ironically about 5 miles from where the wedding reception was). She told me that once I arrived there, they would most likely cut off my clothes, prep me for surgery and, if I was lucky, I’d retain about 50-70% mobility in my hand.

The next thing she told me was they were going to give me 1mg of Dilaudid (which is 10 times stronger then morphine) for the pain. Let me tell you, the relief from that pain was unbelievable and, by far, the best feeling ever. It turns out I also started hitting on everyone in the room. Whoops.

Jenn, being the kind, caring and most patient person ever, followed the ambulance to the burn center. By this time it was past 4am so between the drugs, pain and lack of sleep, I was a mess. Got checked into the burn center when the attending doctor came in (with his students), looked at my hand and gave me great news. With my job and my injuries, he decided cleaning, treatment and debriding of the hand and not surgery was the best option. However, what he did next almost cost him dearly. Without warning, he crushed my hand closed. Blisters started popping, one of them squirting me in the face. I almost punched him. Pain meds or not, that HURT! He explained he needed to make sure my tendons could still move and my hand could physically close if we weren’t going into surgery. Thanks doc.. a little warning next time.

The damage: half of my palm, the inside of my thumb, index and middle fingers had 2nd & third degree burns. My ring finger had a smaller 2nd degree burn as well. Large thick blisters had formed and my hand resembled something out of the Walking Dead.

The next two weeks sucked, completely. I had to wash my hand, dry it, coat it in silvadene cream, cut oil bandage strips to the wound size, wrap those around the burns, wrap that in stretch gauze, then put on this weird (but cool) stretchy “tube” gauze to hold it all in place. I had to do this twice a day for the 1st week because the burns were “seeping” and within 45 minutes of having a new dressing, it would start to yellow. On top of that, I had to do it with one hand so I felt like a battlefield medic every time I had to rip open packages with my teeth.

I went back for my appointment at the UNC burn center 2 weeks later and learned they would debride me (no, not firing a bride). This involves cutting away the dead flesh so the new flesh could start to breath and heal. I discovered a whole new level of anxiety when this very nice man took a very, very sharp pair of scissors and tweezers and started cutting holes in my wounds then peeling back the dead skin. Once he was done, I experienced a whole new range of “sensitivity” with the new, “beefy” flesh touching, well, ANYTHING. Who needed coffee in the morning, just breathe on my hand and I would be wide awake! The tissue looked like the beefiest juiciest red stewed tomato ever.

The healing process from there went quickly for me (I was told I had good genes). My occupational therapy routine ( stretching, gripping, etc) brought yet another new level of pain and, interestingly enough, it felt like it was burning all over again every time I did it. The doctor told me the harder I worked on that, the better chance I had in recovering full mobility of my hand so despite the sheer suck of the entire process, I did as much as I could stand. Not long after I was getting into a routine with the OT and my hand started showing small signs of improvement, one thing I never considered started creeping in… nightmares.

Oh boy, the nightmares! I am not sure which was worse.. experiencing the whole burning sensation 4 times a day when I was stretching my hand or waking up 10-15 times a night, gasping for air, because I just re-lived the actual burn. The only words I can think to describe that feeling is “this sucks”. I tried taking Zzzquil, drinking, pain meds and drinking and nothing would keep me asleep. That lasted for a good 3 months after the debridement & OT started. I honestly don’t know which was worse, the burn, the OT or the nightmares.

Of course, there is the small matter of actually working and holding a camera with a bum hand. In this regard, I was so lucky in a few ways. Jenn, my business partner and best friend, is a fantastic photographer and she took the shoots that we couldn’t reschedule. We also had a break for a couple of weeks so I didn’t have the immediate worry of having to shoot weddings. If Jenn hadn’t been there for me, it would of been difficult if not impossible to continue the business. She took lead on so many shoots and weddings because I just couldn’t handle the physical stress of holding a camera for 8 hours. Having a partner like that, who can step in for long term is not only invaluable, it changed how we operate as a business. My wife was a saint during this time. She helped me with the bandages, put up with the nightmares and the psychological crap that I was going thru personally. Without all of these people in my corner, I know I wouldn’t of come out as well as I have on the other end.

I’m about a year out now and only have the occasional nightmare, which just wakes me up then I go back to sleep pretty quickly. The hand is tight still if I don’t stretch it and i’ve injured my wrist 3 times from working out. Apparently the tendons all work together so while I did OT on my hand to recover the strength in that, the tendons in my wrist weakened and i’ve dislocated my wrist twice while working out on a punching bag. Other then that the scarring is minimal and the strength has fully returned. I cannot stress enough how LUCKY I am I don’t have permanent damage. The doctors told me this type of injury is common and I am one of the few that didn’t suffer permanent damage. I was lucky enough to have a burn center close to me that greatly aided in my recovery. This is how both Jenn and I feed our families so the potential “risk” of being helpful was far, far higher then I would ever knowingly accept.

I reached out to a popular wedding sparkler company regarding the differences between wedding sparklers and “colored sparklers” and “why” this happened. Libba from www.sparklersonline.com had the following to say:

My dad is in the fireworks business and sells almost 15 different varieties of sparklers – over the years I have tried them all. The colored ones are not my favorites because they are too short, are super smoky but most importantly burn like a torch instead of the pretty sparkle like traditional sparklers.

I do love the longer sparklers for weddings – the 20 inch and the 36 inch sparklers are ideal. The benefit of long sparklers is that each guest only needs one sparkler, needs to only light it once and that there is a very long handle to hold. Sparklers are such a beautiful and festive addition to weddings but must be used with good discretion.

So, what did I learn from this whole ordeal and how do we do things differently now? One simple saying (which Jenn coined) – “Not my job.” Sparklers are DANGEROUS! They burn at over 2000 degrees and will instantly burn flesh (I’m so glad these are marketed as kids toys) and as you can see, almost cost me my career. There are so many things we as photographers do to go above and beyond for our clients. The downside is we never really consider the outcome of some of those decisions.

Raleigh Wedding Photographer Brian Mullins has been shooting professionally since 2005 and won numerous awards including Independent Weekly, WPPI Accolade of Excellence and several other local organizations.  His photography studio is based in Apex, NC where he focuses on both his wedding and commercial photography business.  Brian and his business partner Jenn also teach multiple photography workshops for both amateur & professional photographers. 

Brian Mullins is an award winning Wedding & Commercial photographer based in Raleigh, NC. He has photographed over 500 weddings along with numerous commercial shoots ranging from architecture to food. He has spoken to numerous groups on the east coast covering topics from business to lighting. His commercial clients include Amazon, Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Bride & Groom magazine, Westcott, WNCN-TV, WRAL-TV & hacker conventions. His photography and writing have been featured in Huffington Post, Buzzfeed & Petapixel.

Holy Frack! Happy to hear you are recovered! Scary stuff and a lesson to all!

The wrong sparklers? Sparklers are sparklers… The only difference is length and the color is determined by the chemical composition used to make the sparkler… Other than that, this is a nice propaganda article.

There are definitely different types. Google it. This article does a pretty good job: http://vipsparklers.com/wedding-sparklers-2/wedding-sparklers-vs-regular-sparklers/

I can send you a link to their supplier on Alibaba if you’d like. It’s all marketing….

There are 6 different manufacturers of sparklers in China, and 1 left in the USA. Most of them make the crappy sparklers that you find around the 4th of July which are only single dipped to be as cheap as possible. 2 factories double-dip them, and only one triple-dips their sparklers. Sites like http://theweddingsparkler.com/ sell the triple-dipped ones. Sure, you could argue that it’s marketing since “they just come in a fancy box”, but most retailers are interested in profits and buy the cheap single-dipped ones which fall apart easily. Buying from a reputable retailer that offers triple-dipped sparklers is the only way to go for a wedding; or any other event where quality matters.

Nowhere on that site is it mentioned that they are “triple dipped”. Furthermore, I see that that company is based in Minnesota (they collect sales tax in Minnesota). And based on your username “funMNcouple77” MN=Minnesota, I’d say that you’re trying to promote your website by leaving a link under this article. 🙂

LOL or maybe we went to their physical store 15 miles away and bought them for our wedding where they have TV on the wall playing a video with all the facts I shared with you (plus a bunch more I can’t remember off the top of my head) including tours of the 7 factories that make sparklers in the world. That’s how I know there’s 7, only 1 in the US which actually makes crap apparently. But whatever, you seem to pick fights with everyone on this thread to make yourself feel better instead of being productive, so I guess that’s just how you are. I work in construction and my wife is a teacher. Believe what you like, but I’ve bought sparklers at a fireworks stand and the ones I bought for my wedding are FAR superior.

Unbelievable! So glad you have recovered with only slight damage to your hand. Thanks for sharing!

I am a fireworks expert and have been in the industry for the past 20 years and my wife is a wedding photographer. There are many different types of sparklers besides length and color. Sparklers actually cause over 70% of all fireworks injuries, and unfortunately most of them are to children. NEVER give children sparklers in any situation. The best sparklers to use are what are referred to as #20 and #16 sparklers (Approx. 20″ or 16″) anything longer are dangerous because depending on the quality of the metal and heat they can arc. Short ones are fine for most of the wedding not being part of the pictures. Holding or lighting multiple sparklers can cause a “Flare” Burn in which the sparkler can burn at 5-10x the normal rate and at 2-3X the normal temperature. This sounds like what you experienced. Best of luck

I wish I had know that 15 years ago when I burned my hand badly with a sparkler =( . . .

Here is an interesting article on how social media attracts people who need an ego boost: http://www.business2community.com/social-buzz/social-media-attracts-people-need-ego-boost-study-0818927

your burnt hand photos reminds me of the time a red hot pop tart exploded in my hand spilling its liquid hot magma inside all over my palm, that sucked nearly as bad

Unfortunately, we hear this all too often in our industry. You need to make sure that you’re buying from a high quality source that has selected high quality sparklers designed specifically for weddings. Many websites are trying to make a quick buck by cutting corners and buying the cheapest gold sparklers possible. That’s why at http://weddingdaysparklers.com/ we only stock premium quality sparklers that are double-dipped to ensure that nothing flakes off and they burn correctly every single time. All too often we hear horror stories of the cheap sparklers falling apart in the user’s hand; and it is even worse when you are handing them to children. Some companies out there are giving wedding sparklers a bad name, but if you buy from a quality company you will get the right ones that are safe to use. I hope your hand is feeling better soon!

Oh my GOD. That looks so horrific, I’m so glad you’re okay now. This makes me glad to live in an area where they are banned from being used!

Not my job. Good lesson. Glad you recovered!

Damn that is nasty! Thanks for posting this. Many of us wedding photographers didn’t even know there were blue flame sparklers and would have done the same thing.

wow. you’re a trooper. I’m glad you recovered so well. what a story

So crazy, but so happy to hear you’re recovering well! And those photos you still managed to get of the couple right after your burn?! You’re a badass!

Just a side note to this harrowing story: never ever apply ice or iced water to burns. The extreme temperature of such only intensifies the already injured tissue. Simply run tap water over the burn, cover it with sterile wet gauze, and seek medical attention.

and for gods sake don’t add butter! the oil traps the heat in!

In some ways, it is nice that in Colorado bans sparklers because of wildfire danger. But I sure do miss that cool light. http://www.kellinixon.com

The second image with the people holding sparklers that are like smoke with purple, what are those called? They look real nice. and this was a nice article to read. Makes me be extra careful and pay attention.

Those are the sparklers that almost burned this man’s hand off…

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m very glad that you have recovered so well.

This is something that you don’t really think about on a shoot. This will definitely make me more cautious when handling sparklers in the future.

Hey Everyone! I’d like to thank you for the overwhelming support and kind words! Even though I tried to illustrate how “fast” this happened in the article, I cannot express enough how quickly this sequence of events happened. Being comfortable in the environment is the real enemy here. Stay safe out there and thanks again for your support!!

Hi Jaron Schneider.The post was mixture of both happy and sadness moment.The crackers are more enjoyable with a danger,That can turn happy into unhappy every one. More information than go to http://bit.ly/1zJJ9UU

Jaron, Thanks for sharing your experience in that that article for everyone who comes after you, and I am really happy you were able to recover. A lot of people try to light bundles of sparklers all at once in order to save time. Because sparklers burn so slowly normally, they have no idea what can happen. In your case, you had the most reactive type of sparkler sold in the US, AND a bundle of them, AND the flammable part of the sparkler (instead of the handles) in your hand. It was that combination that caused the severity of your injury. But the same flare-up problem can and does happen with all of the “standard” gold sparklers as well. –Harry Gilliam, http://www.WeddingSparklersDirect.com

What an eye opening article. Because of this article I spent extra time before I picked out wedding sparklers for my big day. I went with http://www.grandweddingexit.com as they are made in the US and specifically made for wedding’s. I even went over this article with them and they let us know that their sparklers are made with a steel wire core to ensure a slow steady burn! Thanks for the info and hope other brides find this article and my comment just as helpful as it was for me! 🙂

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I feel your pain Brian. I did the same thing a week and a half ago at a wedding reception. Now my hand is recovering and I too hope to have a full recovery. Lesson learned…never light more than one sparkler at a time.

Dude, I just now saw this! I’m not sure what happened to all of our other comments but, Oh my god I am so sorry!!! I totally feel your pain my friend. If there is anything I can help with please reach out directly to me. I am super easy to find if you just google my name.