With the 4th of July right around the corner this type of story will play out over and over again. It is very important to realize that if you light any firework, especially a large mortar, and it fails to go off do not reattempt to light the less than an inch sized wick. It will end badly and you will not be able to hold a beer at the picnic.

The Mail Tribune reports that a Medford, Oregon, man had his hand blown off by an illegal firework early today and is now being treated at Oregon Health and Science University.

Medford police said David Jerald Jenkins, 37, tried to relight a mortar that had failed to ignite in the driveway of a home in the 200 block of Mace Road at 12:22 a.m. The firework only had about one-quarter inch of fuse left and exploded in Jenkins' hand.

"I saw the pictures. It's a devastating injury. A majority of the hand is gone," said Lt. Mike Budreau.

Police said Jenkins and others originally had been attempting to light an aerial-display rocket, which failed.

"They tried to light it, (and) it dudded out," Budreau said. "It didn't launch into the air. It just kind of flew into the driveway."

Police reported that Jenkins removed the explosive mortar from the top of the rocket and put it in his garage. After about two hours of drinking with the others, he came back out and lit the removed shell, resulting in the explosion, police said.