Fireworks’ safety begins before the fireworks are even sold. It starts with the sellers and manufacturers, who need to adhere to strict quality controls while making their products to ensure they work as advertised.
That said, the truth is that this does not always mean that all fireworks are guaranteed to be safe. If you watch the news over the holidays, you know that things can easily go south when handling fireworks, and most of these can be attributed to the fact that most people do not handle fireworks properly.
That is exactly why you’re guaranteed to find lots of warnings printed on fireworks.
Each year, thousands of Americans are taken to the hospital emergency room due to fireworks-related injuries. Some of the major fireworks culprits include firecrackers, sparklers, and rockets.
According to a quick google search, some of the most common fireworks-related injuries involve the face, head, eyes, fingers, and hands. And do not take these injuries for granted. Some of them are usually so severe that they result in permanent health complications such as vision loss or missing limbs and fingers.
With all that in mind, here are the main safety tips you ought to observe when putting on a fireworks display to protect all your loved ones in your home.
1. Protect Your Pets
I’d like to assume that your pets are part and parcel of your loved ones, and you’d like to protect them as well.
As such, even though lighting fireworks is a celebratory and fun activity for most of us, our pets usually dislike the experiences. For dogs and cats, their heightened hearing senses make the pops and booms of exploding fireworks a little bit too terrifying.
With that in mind, it’s a great idea to put your pets away in safe, indoor locations if you will be setting off the fireworks at night. If you really care about your furry friends, I suggest that you also set up insulated spaces away from the windows and put your pets in there. Feel free to surround them with treats and toys to ensure that the environment doesn’t cause them anxiety.
2. Proper Lighting and Handling
Here are several tips and tricks that you should always observe when lighting and handling fireworks.
- Once a firework has been completely burnt out, hose it down and dispose of it correctly. Feel free to check out my guide on how to store and dispose of fireworks safely.
- If one of the fireworks doesn’t go off, spray it down using a hose and dispose of it as well. Do not try relighting it, as that could spell danger.
- Never light off a firework in a metal or glass container
- Online light a single firework and at a time. In addition, only one person in your family should be doing the lighting.
- Ensure that the fireworks are directed away from your house as well as anything that is potentially flammable, such as a pile of leaves
- Do not throw or point fireworks at anyone
- Only light the fireworks outside and have a hose or bucket of water nearby
These lighting and handling tips and tricks are designed to protect everyone in your home as well as the surrounding.
3. Do not just buy any firework
When it’s time to buy fireworks, you need to either go hard or go home, right? Well, that isn’t always true. Even though the largest firework in the largest package definitely looks more appealing on your shelf, it will require more diligence and careful handling.
If you have never used fireworks before, then I suggest that you ease into the practice by acquiring more manageable and smaller rockets. I also highly suggest that you keep away from fireworks that retail in brown papers. These are usually created for professional displays and can pose a danger to beginners.
4. Set an Age Limit
It is pretty simple, actually. Small kids should not handle fireworks regardless of the case. Even extremely small stuff, such as sparklers or firecrackers, can be quite dangerous in the hands of a kid. If you disagree and think that your small kid is mature and smart enough to handle something as dangerous as fire in his/her hands, then that is up to you.
Just remember that children will be just as happy watching a firework go off as they would be if they had set it off themselves.