Safe celebrating

Firefighters urge care with fireworks.

By YADAMSUREN BORCHULUUN of the Tribune’s staff
Story ran on Friday, June 30 2000

As Independence Day approaches and fireworks fans begin to celebrate with a bang, area firefighters are sounding a traditional warning: Along with excitement, fireworks can hurt people and cause serious damage to property and the environment.

Lt. Steve Sapp of the Columbia Fire Department said fireworks are "unpredictable and dangerous."
"We recommend people attend the free fireworks display at the Hearnes Center," Sapp said. "It is the most enjoyable, economical and safe way to celebrate July Fourth."

Despite that advice, many people no doubt will choose to mark the holiday by enjoying some fireworks of their own. That’s legal in the county, but not within Columbia city limits.

Boone County Fire District Lt. John Metz said everyone who’s around fireworks, not just the people who light them, should be careful. "The spectators are injured more often than the fireworks operators," he said. "Fire and … injuries are two major obvious hazards."

Fireworks seriously injure thousands of people every year, causing burns, eye injuries, impaired hearing or loss of limbs.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, fireworks caused 6,300 emergency room visits from June 23 to July 23, 1999.

Problems with fireworks have prompted 10 states to allow only professional pyrotechnicians to use them, while five restrict the general public to only novelty fireworks like sparklers.

The Academy of Ophthalmology tracks fireworks injuries. According to its Web site, 30 percent of fireworks injuries were to hands, wrists and arms and 20 percent to the eyes. Forty percent of fireworks victims were younger than 14, and 10 percent of injured children suffer permanent damage, such as the loss of an eye, finger or hand.

Metz said most people believe that sparklers - among the most popular fireworks for children - are harmless. But they burn at extremely high temperatures and remain hot long after burning out. People often leave the charred wires lying on the ground where they can be stepped on.

Sparklers can burn up to 1,200 degrees, according to the Columbia Fire Department. The ophthalmology academy says they are responsible for 37 percent of fireworks-related eye injuries.
"Bottle rockets are also dangerous," Metz said. "You cannot control where they will land."

The ophthalmology academy says bottle rockets account for two-thirds of fireworks-related injuries and more than half of fireworks-related eye injuries.

And they’re fire hazards. Just last week, Metz said, an acre of wheat near Hallsville was destroyed in a blaze sparked by bottle rockets.

Sapp said the city and county have been fortunate to avoid severe fireworks-related accidents in recent years.

But there have been problems. Last year, a Centralia child suffered a minor injury when he was hit in the face by fireworks. And fire broke out in a home near Midway after a family threw used fireworks into a plastic bin.

Sapp said that while substantial rainfall from last week could reduce fire danger this year, it might be dry enough by Tuesday to renew the threat.