How to Stay Safe While Using Fireworks

Use water to prevent disposed fireworks from reigniting

WEST FARGO, N.D. — When you light fireworks on the Fourth of July, make sure you’re doing it with care. Firefighters say a key thing to remember when using fireworks is that everything that goes up must come down.

Sparklers, which can heat up to over 1,200 degrees, can also be dangerous.

“Children are the main users of sparklers. They’re intrigued by them, you can light, them, and they look like a welding torch and act as that also. They can cause eye injuries, they can burn down to the hands, drop on the clothes,” Dell Sprecher, Fire Marshal with the West Fargo Fire Department, said.

One mother says her six–year–old daughter experienced just that.

“She loves sparklers until a couple years ago she was wearing pajamas and it actually sparked and melted the pajamas to her skin, so I suggest not wearing pajamas, make sure they’re wearing regular clothes. She had a third degree burn from it,” Amber Martinson said.

Now, she’s taking more precautions.

“It’ll be my son’s first time using sparklers, so I’m trying to get him to know safety as far as holding it away from him, teaching him those kinds of things,” she said.

When using fireworks, keep them away from your house and your neighbors’ houses as well. When throwing them away, make sure they don’t reignite.

“Put them in a non–combustible container such as a metal container, put water in it, water it down good, keep it about 10 to 15 feet from the house,” Sprecher said.

Keep in mind that some people with post–traumatic stress disorder can be triggered by the sound.

“It’s an issue where the noises that it creates, the sensation that it creates, might cause discomfort for some people in our community. People should be cognizant of that. It’s an issue that’s still a very specific case by case basis,” Chief Dan Fuller of the West Fargo Fire Department said. “It’s great to have fireworks. It’s a great patriotic thing everyone does, just make sure you’re taking the safety aspect of it into thought.”

Fireworks are illegal within Fargo and Moorhead city limits, but in West Fargo, you can use them until midnight.