Freshman Isabella Ramharakh was hit and got burned by firework sparks during UM’s Centennial Homecoming Celebration on Friday, Nov. 7 at 9 p.m.
The fireworks, part of UM’s annual Homecoming tradition, were being launched from the center of Lake Osceola. Ramharakh was standing on the path between Eaton Residential College and the lake with her friends when they noticed that a firework was coming in their direction.
“We were like, oh my god, that looks like it’s coming to hit us,” said Ramharakh. “And then, it literally came to hit us.”
In a video taken by Ramharakh’s friend, the firework appears to hit a palm tree and burst apart above the crowd, sending sparks directly toward those gathered. Multiple people scream and after the sparks stop one girl can be heard saying, “Are you ok? Are you ok? That was really scary. You got hit?”
The sparks burned holes in Ramharakh’s tank top and she says has two burns and blistered areas on her stomach.
“I wasn’t the only one who got hit, but I was the only one who got burns from it,” she said.
Ramharakh added that she saw paramedics before the firework show and would have asked for ice or bandages, but she could not find anyone to help her during or after the fireworks show.
“Afterward, everyone was in such a rush to get everyone out and make sure all the stuff was picked up, it didn’t feel like they cared so much about the students,” she said. “It was kind of a concern for me, honestly, that I couldn’t even find a faculty member. There was literally no one there who was in charge of anything, near me, that I could be like, ‘Oh my god, this happened to me.’”
This was Ramharakh’s first Homecoming at UM, and she isn’t sure if she will attend another. If she does go to similar celebrations in the future, Ramharakh said she will sit very far away.
While Ramharakh is treating her burns and blisters with over-the-counter ointments and was not hospitalized, she expressed that the situation could have been much worse if the sparks had hit the children or elderly sitting near her.
“It’s just really heartbreaking to see that this could even happen, because this is Homecoming,” said Ramharakh. “I don’t know how much money [UM] put into this, or how much security and all of the precautions they go through — like they have so much security and everything — but nevertheless this still happened. It’s just sad, honestly.”
The Hurricane contacted UM and members of the Homecoming Executive Committee in the late afternoon on Saturday and has not yet received a response.