The Clark County Fire Prevention Bureau has provided tips and links for the safe handling of fireworks this 4th of July season. For more information, please call the Fire Prevention Bureau: (702) 455-7316.
How to Handle Fireworks Safely
Preparationhttp://www.clarkcountynv.gov/fire/Pages/FireworksSafety.aspx
- Always use fireworks outdoors and have some buckets of water placed nearby where you can soak discharged fireworks.
- Place fireworks on a flat, hard surface like a parking lot in a clear area away from buildings, vehicles and dry brush.
- Have a pre-connected garden hose handy in case of fire.
- Never carry fireworks in your pocket or shoot them into metal or class containers.
- Do not experiment with homemade fireworks.
- If your pets are afraid of fireworks, keep them indoors.
- Alcohol and fireworks do not mix – save your alcohol for after the show.
Using
- A responsible adult should supervise all firework activities. Keep children and pets a safe distance away from fireworks.
- Kids should never play with fireworks. Even sparklers can be dangerous – they can get hot enough to catch clothes on fire or cause skin burns.
- Light one firework at a time and quickly move away. Coordinate lighting the items so that everyone in your group anticipates when they will be set off and is not surprised.
- If an item fails to light, keep bystanders away from it for several minutes. (Sometimes a fuse malfunctions enough to slow the ignition time down, but it ignites seconds later.)
- If a firework malfunctions, catches on fire, or lands somewhere it shouldn’t, make sure someone with a water supply can get to it and put it out.
- If someone’s clothes catch on fire, help them to stop, drop and roll. Any burns should be treated with cool water and gauze. If the burn blisters, seek medical help.
Afterwards
- Place discharged fireworks into a bucket of water overnight to make certain they do not re-ignite. Make sure there are no remaining sparks, embers or heated debris that could cause something to ignite later.
- Clean up litter left behind from fireworks.
For more information, please call the Fire Prevention Bureau: (702) 455-7316.
Thanks for the tip about placing fireworks that are not going to be used in a bucket filled with water overnight to ensure that they won’t be ignited. I’m hosting a family barbecue this summer which includes our tradition of lighting up sparklers. Since we will be buying the sparklers in bulk, I’ll keep these tips in mind to make sure that there won’t be a fire-related accident during the event.