Firework Safety in Woodhaven, Michigan

7/3/2018 (Permalink)

Although beautiful, fireworks can be dangerous. Here are some safety tips to remember this 4th of July.

July is here, and with it comes barbeques, pool parties, and fireworks!  Fireworks are a ton of fun and are beautiful to watch, but it’s important to remember that they are still explosives and should be handled with extreme caution.

On average, 280 people go to the hospital with firework related injuries daily during the month surrounding the 4^th of July holiday.  In 2017 alone, 37% of firework related injuries affected the arms and hands, 36% were to the face, head, and eyes, while 27% affected the lower half of the body.  Over 53% of these reported injuries were burns.

To help keep this from happening to you or someone you love, here’s some firework safety tips from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Fireworks

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
• Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper. This is often a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and could pose a danger to consumers.
• Always have an adult supervise firework activities. Parents don’t realize that young children suffer injuries from sparklers.  Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.
• Never place any part of your body directly over a firework when lighting the fuse, and back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting it.
• Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully.
• Never point or throw fireworks at another person
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of a fire or any other mishap.
• Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.
• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers
• After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding it to prevent a trash fire.

Have a safe and Happy 4^th of July, from your Friends at SERVPRO of Carleton/Maybee.