Officials from the State Fire Marshal’s Office will be out in force over the Fourth of July holiday weekend searching for illegal fireworks that can cause injuries or even fatalities when misused and in the wrong hands.

“We will be all over the place,” Fire Marshal John Dean said earlier this week.

Dean said they are looking for illegal fireworks, which in Maine includes nearly any purchased without a special license except caps and sparklers.

Last year authorities seized thousands of pounds of fireworks, enough to nearly fill a tractor-trailer, and Dean said they could seize as much this year.

In an effort to curb fireworks from coming into the state, investigators last year targeted sellers in New Hampshire, considered a substantial supplier of the illegal fireworks. Maine authorities placed stores in that state under surveillance and tracked Mainers who bought fireworks from them back to Maine where they were stopped.

“We may or may not be doing that this year,” Dean said.

Those caught with illegal fireworks could face fines of up to $5,000, and Dean said there is genuine concern behind efforts to curb the influx.

Each year more than 9,000 people nationwide are injured by fireworks and some are killed. No figures are available for Maine but Dean said the illegal fireworks continue to pose a problem.

His concern extends to fireworks that are legal in Maine but still carry risks. The temperature of a sparkler can reach 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit and can remain dangerously hot after they have burned out, Dean said.

Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor doesn’t track fireworks-related injuries. But Dr. Norman Dinerman, chief of emergency medicine service at the hospital, said they occur from time to time, even with sparklers.

“They’re few and far between but they can be devastating and dramatic,” he said Friday.

Not only can sparklers cause second-degree burns, but their sparks can get into eyes and cause damage, he said.

That’s why Dean and Dinerman encourage adults to supervise their children when they are playing with sparklers.

Even though the hospital will be prepared to handle emergencies that may arise, Dinerman said medical staff wouldn’t mind facing the same predicament as the Maytag repairmen in the commercials where they have nothing to do.

“We’d like nothing better to be the Maytag repairmen of trauma this weekend,” Dinerman said.

Fireworks displays are being held across the state and a complete list of licensed fireworks can be found at WWW.maine.gov/dps.fmo.