Pregnant mum severely burned after firework explodes on her

A 28-week pregnant mother was severely burned after a street party's fireworks display went awry.

On Sunday, July 4, Katie Bihl was sitting with her three-year-old son on her lap at a street party in the US state of Tennessee to celebrate the country's Independence Day.

Ms Bihl was filming the fireworks about 30 metres away, when an explosion happened.

There was a safety line in the street that no one was meant to pass, but she said it descended into "chaos", with multiple people lighting fireworks at different times all over the place.

Ms Bihl's husband, Luke, said a neighbour had set off the fireworks on an unstable box, which tipped over and caused fireworks to start shooting everywhere.

"All of a sudden they were exploding in front of my face, and I didn't know where it was coming from or how long it was going to last or what was happening," she told local news outlet WKRN.

The news station reported one of the fireworks exploded on Ms Bihl's leg, and she shielded her son and ran towards her home.

Both Ms Bihl and her son were taken to hospital.

She suffered several severe burns to her legs, while her son suffered a minor burn to his thigh. She said she is still in pain from her injuries.

She told WKRN when she was at the hospital she noticed there were other people there with firework-related injuries, deducing it was common, but something people think would never happen to them.

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"Looking back, there were things that should have been done to make sure everyone is safe, but people get really excited and you take your safety for granted," she told WKRN.

"Make sure you read the warning labels and you have a plan."

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