LAKEWOOD, Ohio — The Fourth of July goes hand-in-hand with fireworks, but Lisa Homcy has a message: Leave the fireworks to the professionals.
She emailed News 5 wanting to share her story. I sat down with her and spoke to her about the July 4 that changed her family forever.
“It is as raw today as it was 25 years ago,” Homcy said.
She never imagined a night on the front porch after a rained-out Lakewood fireworks show would lead to the most horrific experience her family has lived through.
"The kids came down and said, 'Can we hang out with you?'" Homcy recalled.
She said a firework launched by a neighbor flew toward the family, striking her youngest son.
“The next thing I heard was the most horrific scream I've ever heard from my youngest son, who was three at the time,” Homcy said.
“My first response was to just grab him and run him up and throw him into my bathtub and douse him with cold water,” she said. “I had no idea where he was hurt or how he was hurt at that time."
She has multiple pictures of her son during his hospital stay.
"It actually hit him in his upper left arm, and then exploded,” Homcy said.
Her son suffered second- and third-degree burns. Most of the damage was done to his upper body, including his face.
“The one thing that brought him comfort when he was a child was his pacifier, and his lips were burned, so he couldn't suck on his pacifier,” Homcy said. “So the one thing that could bring him comfort, he couldn't have because his lips were burned.”
Homcy told me her son "he went through hell" throughout his recovery.
“They put them on what's called a spray table,” Homcy said. “And they scrape off the dead skin, which is incredibly painful, and they spray it off, and then they scrape until it’s raw.”
Homcy said her son endured weeks of inpatient and outpatient treatment. She said the PTSD he experienced as a child has faded.
“He's an adult now, and he has a beautiful life because of the care he received. God, thank God, he has minimal scarring,” Homcy said. “He does still have scarring on his chest, and he's still missing that piece of his arm.”
She believes Ohio’s fireworks law that took effect in 2022, allowing people to set off consumer-grade fireworks on certain holidays, is a bad idea.
She said she wants people to know what can happen, the laws in their community, since many ban fireworks, and to think twice about setting them off.
“Think more than twice, don’t… just don’t,” Homcy said. “Just don’t do it. Just don’t.”
She said leave it to the pros.
"There are so many opportunities to watch fireworks every year, and this year there's even more, because it's, you know, the 250th anniversary of America,” Homcy said.
When Ohio’s fireworks law was signed, Republican State Sen. Terry Johnson said in a news release, "The previous laws around consumer-grade fireworks were largely ignored and unenforceable.”
He also said, "This is an issue that my colleagues and I have worked on diligently for quite a while. Not only does this law mean that Ohioans will now be able to legally celebrate a number of our major holidays with fireworks, but it also makes significant strides toward making the use of consumer-grade fireworks safer."
Many cities, however, ban people from setting off fireworks, including Cleveland, Lakewood, Akron, Westlake, and Tallmadge, to name a few.
Homcy said it’s for good reason.
"They're big boy toys, is what they are, that's what they are, they're big boy toys, and there's zero reason to do it,” Homcy said.
She said the neighbor who set off that firework 25 years ago did some jail time.
Homcy said she’s forgiven him.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that in 2025 there were 15 reported fireworks-related deaths and 13,000 people injured by fireworks.
She emailed News 5 wanting to share her story. I sat down with her and spoke to her about the July 4 that changed her family forever.
“It is as raw today as it was 25 years ago,” Homcy said.
She never imagined a night on the front porch after a rained-out Lakewood fireworks show would lead to the most horrific experience her family has lived through.
"The kids came down and said, 'Can we hang out with you?'" Homcy recalled.
She said a firework launched by a neighbor flew toward the family, striking her youngest son.
“The next thing I heard was the most horrific scream I've ever heard from my youngest son, who was three at the time,” Homcy said.
“My first response was to just grab him and run him up and throw him into my bathtub and douse him with cold water,” she said. “I had no idea where he was hurt or how he was hurt at that time."
She has multiple pictures of her son during his hospital stay.
"It actually hit him in his upper left arm, and then exploded,” Homcy said.
Her son suffered second- and third-degree burns. Most of the damage was done to his upper body, including his face.
“The one thing that brought him comfort when he was a child was his pacifier, and his lips were burned, so he couldn't suck on his pacifier,” Homcy said. “So the one thing that could bring him comfort, he couldn't have because his lips were burned.”
Homcy told me her son "went through hell" throughout his recovery.
“They put them on what's called a spray table,” Homcy said. “And they scrape off the dead skin, which is incredibly painful, and they spray it off, and then they scrape until it’s raw.”
Homcy said her son endured weeks of inpatient and outpatient treatment. She said the PTSD he experienced as a child has faded.
“He's an adult now, and he has a beautiful life because of the care he received. God, thank God, he has minimal scarring,” Homcy said. “He does still have scarring on his chest, and he's still missing that piece of his arm.”
She believes Ohio’s fireworks law that took effect in 2022, allowing people to set off consumer-grade fireworks on certain holidays, is a bad idea.
She said she wants people to know what can happen, to know about the laws in their community, since many ban fireworks, and to think twice about setting them off.
“Think more than twice, don’t… just don’t,” Homcy said. “Just don’t do it. Just don’t.”
She said leave it to the pros.
"There are so many opportunities to watch fireworks every year, and this year there's even more, because it's, you know, the 250th anniversary of America,” Homcy said.
When Ohio’s fireworks law was signed, Republican State Sen. Terry Johnson said in a news release, "The previous laws around consumer-grade fireworks were largely ignored and unenforceable.”
He also said, "This is an issue that my colleagues and I have worked on diligently for quite a while. Not only does this law mean that Ohioans will now be able to legally celebrate a number of our major holidays with fireworks, but it also makes significant strides toward making the use of consumer-grade fireworks safer."
Many cities, however, ban people from setting off fireworks, including Cleveland, Lakewood, Akron, Westlake and Tallmadge, to name a few.
Homcy said it’s for good reason.
"They're big boy toys, is what they are... and there's zero reason to do it,” Homcy said.
She said the neighbor who set off that firework 25 years ago did some jail time.
Homcy said she’s forgiven him.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that in 2025 there were 15 reported fireworks-related deaths and 13,000 people injured by fireworks.
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
