Be Safe With Fireworks This 4th of July

• An average of 200 People A Day visit the ER around the July 4th Holiday Area.
• Almost half are injuries to the Hands, Fingers and Arms!
• 80 of those 200 people are between the age of 25 and 44
• Men are injured more than women
• 6 people Died last year (2012) All from Illegal or Homemade Fireworks

1. Don't buy fireworks from some guy selling out the back of his truck. Make sure there is a manufacturer label. Stay away From Brown paper packaged fireworks. Be sure the product are legal in your area. Stick to Legal Dealers, and ask questions. Use common Sense people!
2. Don't just Read the direction Follow them! Did it say Outdoors Use Only? Well Duh, These are explosives. Don't be a moron and Throw fireworks at people.
3. At-least have a bucket of water close by. Know the Hose(Where is the garden hose)! Designate someone to take the role of Fireman. Maybe even have a Fire extinguisher handy too.
4. Do not let the kids play with or ignite the fireworks. Sparklers burn at high temps and can easily burn a child. Poppers are about the only exception.
5. Alcohol, Drugs and Fireworks don't Mix at all, Be responsible! Always have a sober Adult supervise.
6. Never lean or look over Fireworks. Always Light at arms length. Never try to relight a faulty firework. Protect your eyes and ears. Wear proper clothing. Got the First aid kit handy?
7. Keep all Fireworks stored in a safe dry place away from open flames. A close box will work great. Don't Smoke near Fireworks. Never carry them in your pockets. Always Dispose of properly. Clean the area after your finished
8. Make sure your in a clear area. Watch out for Trees, Houses, & People. When your shooting fireworks that leave the ground keep in mind the wind.
9. Don't pull a MacGyver and build your own Fireworks. leave it to the Pro's. Always Shoot one at a time.
10. Think of others. Let your neighbors know you will be shooting off fireworks. Pets may freak out by the loud noises. Keep all pets indoors

4th of July is one of my favorite Holidays. The Best of the F's, Food, Friends, Family, And of coarse Fireworks! The Louder the better. Just the Idea of Lighting a pack of firecrackers Gets Me So Excited. Fuse Lit then seconds later it pops into nothing but burnt Red Paper scattered across the road in front of the house. The Smell of firework smoke is just exhilarating. Really brings me back to my child hood, My dad Blowing up our least favorite toys, Hot wheels, Plastic Army Men, & all sorts of stuff that we thought would look cool blown up and melted. Anything with a parachute would drive all the kids wild. Light off a rocket then pow a parachute pops out and slowly comes back to earth. All us kids would run out trying to catch them. The fountains where not my favorite unless they to have parachutes. My families absolute favorite thing to shoot off was the artillery shells. Shooting from the ground from a tube leaving a Thump in your chest traveling upwards hundreds of feet into the sky suddenly erupting into dazzling designs of colors and lights. We always used safety when shooting our fireworks, Always watching for cars and others. We did have a few close calls with fireworks falling over and going of dangerously coming close to houses and trees. I personally extinguished some small fires from faulty fireworks that left the ground and went into some dry grasses. Never had any serious injuries besides a burn here in there from sparklers or faulty fireworks that prematurely went off. The only thing I did not really enjoy was the cleanup afterwards, So much paper and carcasses scattered everywhere, But that was just apart of the firework experience. This year for the Fourth of July I will be celebrating by shooting off fireworks. Happy Independence Day America!

In the video below this you will see people who decides to be unsafe with firework. Lets learn from these examples of what not to do with Fireworks. I'm not sure if any of these people were seriously injured, No one was Killed so that great, Some clips made me cringe So viewers discretion is advised. Its Funny how common since ain't so common any more. Keep in mind these people were obviously to comfortable with fireworks, For some reason that’s when things usually go bad.

This year whether your watching or shooting fireworks we all need to practice firework safety. Have a talk to your kids about the safe ways to enjoy fireworks. Teach them while their young. Happy 4th of July America!

Share with Everyone The scariest firework incident you have had.