Families across the QCA wait all year for the oohs and aahs that come with the big fireworks shows. But as we get closer to the fourth, experts ask you to leave the big displays to the pros, and exercise extra caution with sparklers, snakes and caps.
They say it's important every year, but especially so this year, because it has been so dry."They're sparkling, everybody likes fireworks," Davenport Fire Lt. Brian Mohr tells us. "That's the attractant to people wanting to shoot them off." But this year, you may want to think twice.
We tested snakes and sparklers with firefighters holding fire extinguishers standing by. And it took just moments for the flame from a sparkler to spread to the ground. We had the same experience with snakes, which are supposed to be lit on the ground. Lt. Mohr says, "You actually have an open flame there. So being anywhere close to the dry vegetation, it could actually take off."
That is a big concern as cities and counties across the QCA are talking drought. No one has issued a burn ban yet, but some are asking residents to use caution when burning. Our experiment showed sparklers and snakes burning. Other novelties did not, but firefighters say that could change if we don't get more rain. "I'm actually surprised we didn't get more fire from the other ones" Mohr tells us. "I think each one is going to have the potential because of the ember that comes off of it. And if a hot ember falls in the right place where the dry vegetation is, you will get the fire."
That, because no matter what kind of novelty firework it was, it shot sparks. Even the ones we didn't expect to do that. A hen that was supposed to blow up a balloon at the back end, like laying an egg, instead started spitting sparks from the front. We didn't know that was going to happen, because there is not a lot of information on the labels. One of the fountains we used read, "Light fuse and get away".
Firefighters say if you're going to let your kids play with fireworks, be with them. A falling ember can spark a fire much faster than you'd expect. And even if the fireworks are all flamed out, they stay hot. Mohr says, "Even putting it down, it could stay at that temperature for some time, or at least the temperature that could burn somebody, And if they're running around, which they will be with sparklers, and they step on it, you've got a burn." Crews recommend having a bucket handy for used sparklers. They suggest filling it with sand, or better yet water. That way no one can step on a hot sparkler, and you'll have something to put out a fire in case one starts.
The numbers show that happens too often. On Independence Day in a typical year, more fires are reported than on any other day. More than twice as many as on an average day. According to the National Fire Protection Association, back in 2010, fireworks caused an estimated 15,500 fires at homes, vehicles and more. Hospital emergency rooms in our country saw 86 hundred people for fireworks related injuries. More than half were burns. And two of five people, 39 percent of those hurt, were under the age of 15. In fact, the NFPA says the risk of fireworks injury was highest for kids 5 to 14. 43 percent of those injuries came from sparklers, fountains and novelties.
