A 14-year-old Abbotsford boy was rushed to a Vancouver hospital for reconstructive surgery after a powerful firecracker detonated in his hand Sunday night.

Despite a fireworks ban in Abbotsford, police responded to 40 calls involving fireworks and noise complaints on Halloween, with 30 of the calls resulting in illegal fireworks being seized by officers, Const. Ian MacDonald said.

"The most concerning part is that there is a fireworks ban in Abbotsford . . . and yet we have this pretty serious injury and the information we have is that these fireworks, these M-80s, came up from the States," he said.

"How did a 14-year-old come to possess an M-80?" asked MacDonald.

"And get the time and space to detonate it? I guess that's a question, obviously, his family will be pondering."

The force of the detonation was powerful enough to split open and severely burn the victims entire left hand, blow a hole through the shirt he was wearing and cause burns to his face and chest.

The boy was initially taken to Abbotsford Regional Hospital, but due to the severity of damage to his hand, was transferred to a Metro Vancouver hospital for emergency reconstructive surgery to re-attach at least one finger, MacDonald said.

Police are investigating whether the fireworks were smuggled into Canada or whether a local business or retailer was involved their sale and distribution.

Of the 30 seizures, some instances saw officers confiscating more than 100 fireworks.

Following the recent hospitalization of a 12-year-old Abbotsford boy who was seriously burned after mixing flammable materials, MacDonald admitted police are concerned about younger children being exposed to such volatile items.

"That was not the only M-80 in town," he said.

"At this point we haven't had any other reported injuries, but there easily could have been."

RArnott@abbotsfordtimes.com