6 Firework Safety Tips

Fireworks in the night sky

The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and that means barbecues, celebrating with the family, and lighting off fireworks. While they’re a holiday tradition and fun for the whole family, fireworks are still technically an explosive and should be handled with care. According to the NSC, more than 18,000 fires are started by fireworks every year, and nearly 1,300 of these are structural fires. Practicing some basic safety measures can help greatly reduce the risk of fire and personal injury.

 

Firework Safety Tips

  1. If you want to watch a big display, the city of Twin Falls will be hosting their annual Independence Day Fireworks event at the College of Southern Idaho on July 4th at 10 pm. Get more information about the event by visiting the official TFID event page.
  2. Only light one firework at a time. Big dazzling displays can be a lot of fun to watch, but you should really leave that to the professionals. Since you have to light store bought fireworks by hand, lighting more than one at a time means that you’re racing against the clock to get them all lit and get away to a safe distance. Don’t risk injury, just light one at a time.
  3. Only allow children to use fireworks with close adult supervision. Very young children and children who cannot understand and follow safety instructions should not handle lit fireworks.
  4. Never hold a lit firework in your hand. This one seems pretty self-explanatory, but 30% of all fireworks related injuries involve injury to the hands and fingers. Even if you’re confident in your abilities, all fireworks are not created equally. Cheap and mass produced fireworks may go off early or detonate improperly, leaving you at a substantial risk for injury.
  5. Don’t try and re-light a firework that didn’t go off. As we mentioned in the last point, cheap or mass produced fireworks aren’t always of the highest quality. If you watched the fuse burn down but the firework didn’t go off, then odds are the firework is either a “dud” or constructed improperly. Attempting to re-light it without a long fuse can be extremely dangerous.
  6. Keep a bucket of water or a hose at the ready. Even if you don’t end up needing to put out any fires, you should still always douse your fireworks before throwing them away. The last thing you want to deal with during your Independence Day celebration is a garbage fire!