Fourth of July and Seattle World Cup festivities came with injuries

The Fourth of July and Seattle's last World Cup game made for an extended weekend in the city, and the festivities came with an expected handful of injuries.

Fireworks caused 86 injuries in the past week, over a third of which were to the hands, Harborview Medical Center reported. That's 65% more injuries related to fireworks than last year, when there were 52.

The Seattle Fire Department responded to at least 22 fires related to fireworks and one emergency medical situation, said spokesperson Kaila Lafferty. Among the fires were two significant incidents.

Just before 11:30 p.m. on the Fourth, fire crews put out a fire in a two-story single-family home on the 3300 block of West Elmore Street in Magnolia that was caused by fireworks that were left smoldering in a trash can, Lafferty said. The fire spread to a wooden fence, then a detached shed before setting the home ablaze; no one was hurt.

The following night on Sunday, fire crews put out a fire on the roof of an apartment building on the 200 block of 10th Avenue South in the Central District after fireworks landed on the rooftop and ignited dry vegetation. It spread to 75% of the roof before it was put out. No one was hurt.

Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, which operates in South King County, treated one adult and four children for critical injuries related to fireworks, said Division Chief Pat Pawlak.

Monday seemed to wreak a little less havoc when the U.S. Men's National Team took on Belgium in a heartbreaking loss at Seattle Stadium.

Seattle Fire crews treated 55 people, 13 of whom were taken to the hospital. Lafferty said. The causes of their medical emergencies aren't yet known.

Harborview Medical Center didn't report any World Cup-related injuries that staff could identify, nor did Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority.

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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 4:50 PM.