While the nation celebrated Independence Day 2021 with a sense that things were slowly turning back to normal, there were some whose fortunes took a turn for the worse after fireworks displays quickly got out of hand. 

In Chicago, a 19-year-old lost their hand and was critically injured as a result of a fireworks injury, according to the city’s fire department. 

The Chicago Fire Department said the accident happened on the South Side and warned the public to “leave fireworks to professional venues.” 

Homes damaged by fireworks. 
(Austin Fire Department)

In Austin, fireworks were blamed for burning multiple homes to the ground early Monday, FOX 7 reported. The fire started at a home in the 6900 block of Bethune Avenue near St. John’s and I-35 and spread to two other homes and a vehicle, according to the station. 

In Houston, a 29-year-old woman suffered severe facial injuries due to fireworks in a Kroger parking lot on Highway 6, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said. 

One of several homes in Austin damaged by fireworks. 
(Austin Fire Department)

Deputies told KPRC-TV the woman’s injuries were so severe that she had to be flown to a hospital downtown. 

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Meanwhile, a pregnant mom and her 3-year-old son were severely burned by fireworks at a neighborhood block party in Spring Hill, Tennessee. 

The mother, Katie Bihl, inadvertently recorded the incident on her cell phone and shared the footage with FOX 17. 

In the video, Bihl can be heard shouting: “It exploded on me!” as a child wails in the background. 

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In Novi, Michigan, a town 30 miles northwest of Detroit, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast Sunday night. 

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks (80) is shown during the second period of an NHL hockey game in New York, in this Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, file photo.
(AP)

Novi police said the firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby. Kivlenieks was in a hot tub and tried to get clear with several other people, police Lt. Jason Meier said. 

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The fire department and EMTs got to the private home shortly after 10 p.m. and took Kivlenieks to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.