This week we celebrate our country's independence! Many of us celebrate the Fourth of July with picnics, boating, camping, and time spent with family and friends. Others may also celebrate by watching a firework display or lighting their own fireworks.
As Coach Kayla mentioned in one of
her previous blogs, there are some firework safety tips that we should keep in mind as we celebrate this week. The
United States Consumer Product Safety Commission promotes their annual firework safety awareness with the hashtag #CelebrateSafely. They also show firework safety demonstrations to help spread the word about using fireworks with caution. Here is a short video of the
2018 USCPSC demonstration. In 2017, there were 12,900 injuries and 8 deaths related to firework use with the highest injury rate coming from sparklers.
So how can we avoid adding to the statistics? Here are a few tips to help keep you and your family safe this holiday.
- Keep fireworks away from children. This includes our beloved sparklers that can reach up to 2,000 degrees!
- Do not place any part of your body over a firework as you light it.
- Never re-light a firework or pick up fireworks that seem to be "duds".
- Do not throw or point fireworks at others, or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
- Keep water or a hose handy to extinguish any lit fireworks. Make sure they are fully burned out and soaked with water to avoid a trash fire.
- Check if the fireworks are legal or if they require a permit to light in your area. Most likely if you need a permit to light them, it's a sign to leave it to the professionals.
If leaving it to the professionals this year, here are a few local fireworks displays to check out!
Have a safe and fun Fourth of July!
-Sarah