Firecracker Injury or Stray-Bullet Wound on New Year’s Eve in the Philippines: Cool It, Press It, Leave It Alone, Reach a Hospital Tonight

The first ten minutes: the right first step for each injury

First aid for firecracker injuries is not complicated. The hard part is not doing the wrong thing. Move the person away from anything still being lit, then act by type:

• Burns. Run cool, clean water over the area for a good ten to twenty minutes, gently removing rings, watches and tight clothing as you go; leave anything stuck to the skin. No ice directly on the burn, and no toothpaste, soy sauce, oil or home remedies, which worsen the damage and obscure the doctor’s assessment. Afterwards cover loosely with clean gauze or cling film.
• Bleeding. Press a clean cloth or gauze firmly on the wound, keep pressing, and raise the limb. If blood soaks through, add another layer on top instead of lifting the first.
• A severed finger or part. Control the bleeding first. Wrap the part in a clean damp cloth, seal it in a plastic bag and place the bag in a container of ice and water, so that the part never touches ice directly. Send it with the patient.
• Eyes. Do not rub, press, remove anything or apply ointment. Shield the eye with something rigid such as a paper cup and go to a hospital with an eye service. Flush with plenty of water only for chemical powder and only when nothing has pierced the eye.
• Ears. Ringing, muffled hearing or discharge after a close blast: do not probe; see a doctor.
• Swallowing. If a child puts a small firecracker or its powder in the mouth, do not induce vomiting. Go to hospital with the packaging.

If the person turns pale, sweats, or becomes less responsive, lay them flat, keep them warm and get a vehicle or call the national emergency line, 911.

Where to go tonight and what to bring

Go to the nearest hospital with an emergency room that can clean and close wounds. For eye injuries, serious hand injuries and large burns, go straight to a major general hospital rather than losing time at a small clinic.

Realities of the night:

• Public hospitals usually reinforce emergency staffing at year end specifically for firecracker injuries. Charges are lower, but crowds and waits are long.
• Private hospitals have shorter waits and more comfort at higher cost, and often require a deposit before admission or surgery. The differences are set out in emergency room and hospital costs.
• Roads are difficult. People light fireworks in the street, ride-hailing drivers are few and surcharges are common. Driving yourself or asking the hotel for a car is usually faster than waiting for an ambulance.
• Front desks and security guards at hotels and condominiums generally know the nearest emergency room. Ask.

Bring your passport, cash and cards, insurance details, and the patient’s medication and allergy information. If you know what type of firecracker it was, photograph the remains or packaging, particularly for swallowing and chemical burns.

Three questions to raise at the hospital: is a tetanus shot needed (these wounds are heavily contaminated and usually warrant assessment), is an X-ray needed for retained fragments, and when should the dressing be changed and the wound reviewed. Burns and hand wounds are most prone to infection in the first few days, so follow-up matters as much as the first night. The emergency-room process is described in how emergency rooms work in the Philippines.

If language is a barrier, write a few lines in English for the doctor: when it happened, what exploded, where you are hurt and what has been done so far.

Stray bullets: what they are, how to avoid them, what to do if hit

A stray bullet on New Year’s Eve comes from someone firing a gun into the air; the round falls and strikes another person. This is illegal in the Philippines, and police issue warnings and make arrests every year, yet isolated cases still occur. It is no reason to cancel a trip. Reducing your exposure in the ways below is enough.

Avoiding it:

• For the hour around midnight, stay indoors under a solid roof, or inside a high-rise rather than at the edge of a balcony;
• do not linger under light roofing such as sheet metal or fabric awnings;
• watch fireworks from an officially organised display or from the viewing area of a hotel or mall, not from residential side streets;
• do not hold children at balconies and windows.

If you are hit, or think you might have been:

1. Go indoors at once and look at the wound. A bullet wound can be small and bleed little while causing serious internal damage. A small wound is not necessarily a minor one.
2. Press a clean cloth on it. Do not try to remove anything.
3. Go to an emergency room immediately and say that you suspect a gunshot wound. Hospitals are required to notify police of gunshot wounds; this is routine.
4. Report at the police station covering the location. Note the time and place, and keep your clothing and any bullet found, unwashed. The process is in how to file a police report.

For the general structure of day-to-day security see our public security overview. The New Year’s Eve risk is of the short, concentrated and avoidable kind. Residents plan around it as a matter of habit, and visitors who do the same have an ordinary, noisy and enjoyable night.

Getting through the night: how bystanders usually get hurt

Most visitors injured on New Year’s Eve were not lighting anything. They were standing where someone else was. The common scenarios and what to do about each:

• Walking past. In residential streets people throw firecrackers into the road. For an hour or two around midnight avoid walking through side streets, and do not ride a motorcycle.
• Watching up close. Crowding round someone lighting a large firecracker or a home-made cannon. Keep a generous distance and stay upwind.
• Picking up duds. Never pick up, inspect or relight one that failed to go off. Children are especially drawn to this.
• Being invited to join. Neighbours, colleagues or a landlord may warmly offer you one to light. Decline with a smile, or stick to hand-held sparklers and wear glasses.
• Alcohol. After drinking, touch no fireworks at all.
• Smoke. The air after midnight is thick with particles. People with asthma or heart and lung conditions, and infants, should stay inside with windows closed and medication to hand.
• Pets and vehicles. Park in a garage or away from where fireworks are lit, and keep pets indoors.

Which fireworks are legal and where they may be lit is set by national regulation together with local governments. Certain types are banned outright, some cities prohibit all firecrackers, and many places permit them only in designated community zones. Follow the announcement of the local government for the year. For a foreign visitor the safest course is not to buy, not to light and to watch only official displays.

Families can agree rules in advance using our outdoor safety checklist for children. Packed countdown events also carry crowding risks; see crowd crush at festivals. If fireworks set your home alight, see what to do in a home fire.

Afterwards: reporting, responsibility and insurance

Treatment comes first, but if you want to keep the option of a claim, the report and the evidence need to be done within the first day or two.

Report. Have the incident recorded at the police station covering the location and obtain the entry number. State the time, place, what caused the injury and whether you know who lit it. If it happened at a hotel, restaurant or event, also report in writing to the management and ask for an incident record.

Evidence. Photos of the wound before and after treatment, photos and video of the scene, firecracker remains and packaging, witnesses’ contacts, all medical records and receipts, and proof of rebooked or cancelled travel.

Who may be responsible:

• the person who lit it, particularly where a banned type was used or it was lit in a prohibited area;
• the venue or event organiser, depending on whether safe distances and barriers were provided;
• the guardians of a minor who caused the injury;
• for stray bullets, the matter is criminal and investigated by police.

Realistically, identifying and recovering from a stranger in the street is very difficult. Where the injury occurred on business premises and the other party is known, there is much more room for negotiation. If a private settlement is offered, put the terms in writing and state whether later treatment is included.

Insurance. Accident medical cover in a travel policy generally applies, though injuries from lighting banned fireworks yourself or after drinking may be refused; see whether to buy domestic travel insurance. Notify early and keep the police record.

Whether to sue and what can be claimed are legal questions. For an individual case consult a licensed attorney. This article is not legal advice and does not replace medical diagnosis or treatment.

What Yixing can help with

Yixing is not a hospital and does not treat wounds. On a holiday night, what we can do is help you settle three things quickly: which facility, how to get there and how to explain what happened.

We can suggest the type of emergency room to head for from where you are and help arrange a vehicle; provide a Chinese-speaking escort and medical interpretation; accompany you to the police station; assist with rebooking, extra hotel nights and a stay extension if the injury disrupts your trip; and list the documents an insurer will want. Contact us through Yixing settling-in and emergency assistance. Every service is short-staffed on New Year’s Eve, so expect a slower response than on an ordinary day.

We do not promise that the person responsible will be found, that compensation will be paid or that an insurer will accept a claim, and we will not negotiate money privately with the other side for you.

Yixing International Travel is a privately owned consultancy and travel-services company registered in the Philippines (SEC Registration No. CS202009551). It holds Bureau of Immigration accreditation (BI Accreditation No. CA-202624381-1, valid to 2027-06-30), DOLE accreditation and PRA accreditation, and has no affiliation with any government office, hospital or insurer.

The one-line version: stay indoors or at an official viewing point around midnight; do not buy, light or pick up; if hurt, cool it, press it, put nothing on it and go to hospital that night. To understand why the country celebrates this way, read Philippine customs and festivals. It is also worth agreeing a simple plan with your travel companions before the evening begins: where you will watch from, how you will get back, and which hospital you would head for if someone were hurt.