Neighborhood Fireworks Safety

By Carrie Davis
Anchor
Published: July 4, 2008

Children everywhere are getting ready to light fireworks this fourth of July.
But if they aren’t careful fireworks can cause a lot of damage.
North Spartanburg Fire Chief Larry David says he sees problems every year.
“If you set a fire somewhere and damage somebody’s property you are liable for it.“
He says one of the biggest problems is that you can’t control where the fire cracker is going to end up.
“You just don’t know where they are going to go.  Some of them I have seen go up ten feet and go down some of them misfire different things like that.“
“If you are going to set off fireworks in your neighborhood tonight the fire chief says it doesn’t matter if you do it in the street or you do it in the front yard he says the key is to make sure you don’t have a lot of trees and brush around.“
He suggests setting them off in a group so you can easily watch the debris field.  Also stand back at least 30 to 40 feet after lighting them so you can run easily if one malfunctions.
“It wouldn’t hurt to keep a little bucket of water or something , a hose close out just a little something for caution just in case.“
The Chief also says only people well aware of how to stay safe should get near the fireworks, because even the simple ones like the sparkler can cause big problems.
“Some adults aren’t old enough to use those.  I leave it up to the parents they know how their kids are and the parents need to be there at all times.“
Finally he says, “If you set a fire somewhere and damage somebody’s property you are liable for it.“