You are going to celebrate our nation’s birth date today.
You might settle back with a cold one, gather your family and watch fireworks. You and your kids or grandkids might set some off yourselves.
In the blaze of gunpowder and Budweiser, we present some tips for handling fireworks, so you or your children don’t lose any limbs in today’s celebrations. You will need all appendages to be functional when you return to The Job tomorrow or Monday and resume running your company’s mass of machine tools.
So, without further adieu, here are three tips for handling fireworks:
1. Not indoors
Are we stating the obvious? Fireworks are not meant for inside your house or garage. Light them off outside and have a hose and bucket of water nearby for accidents.
Point fireworks away from neighboring homes as well as leaves and other flammable objects that can catch fire. According to kidshealth.org, the National Fire Protection Association estimates that local fire departments have to respond to more than 50,000 fires caused by fireworks annually.
2. Supervision
Don’t let the little ones light off fireworks by themselves. You must supervise your children or grandchildren who want to play with firecrackers, rockets, sparklers and other goodies. Don’t let them alter or combine fireworks or hold them in their hands while lighting. Stay vigilant and no one gets hurt!
3. Never relight a dud
Fuses on fireworks are designed in length to allow the shooter to scramble away from the detonation spot for safety. Relighting a fuse that didn’t burn all the way down reduces the time the shooter has to escape. The firework may blow up in your face, even if you think it’s a dud! If you encounter duds, wait 20 minutes and then soak them in water before disposal.
If fireworks aren’t in your patriotic fervor on the 4th, we leave you with the aptly-named music video below. If you are bombing the highways today or merely appreciate outlaw country rock, you might dig it!