Fireworks safety urged by local authorities

By Erik Sanzenbach

St. Tammany News

The Fourth of July is a time for picnics, parades, and probably the most traditional way of celebrating our country's independence, setting off fireworks.

However, fire and police agencies in St. Tammany Parish want residents to be careful and avoid turning ooohs and aaahs of appreciation into screams and cries of pain and anguish.

"We advise people to leave the fireworks to the professionals," Fire Prevention Chief Neil Ricca of St. Tammany Fire District One said. "There are really no safe fireworks."

Ricca recommends that residents enjoy the beauty of fireworks at public fireworks displays, such as the fireworks show that will be staged at 9 p.m. July 4 at Heritage Park in Slidell.

Ricca said, according to the National Fire Protection Association, 75 percent of fireworks injuries occur around July 4. Annually, 5,000 firework injuries are reported at emergency rooms across the nation, with most of the injuries occurring to children between the ages of 10 and 14.

"As parents and adults, we have a responsibility to protect our children," Ricca said. "Playing with fireworks invites disaster."

Still, people will shoot off fireworks, and between June 25 and July 5, the fireworks stands that pop up around the parish will do a booming business.

Locally, the sale, possession and use of fireworks are legal in the unincorporated parts of St. Tammany Parish. The only prohibition is on projectile fireworks, such as skyrockets and bottle rockets.

In Slidell, the sale, possession and use of any fireworks is prohibited.

The same regulations hold true in Covington and Mandeville as well.

Despite these regulations citizens and residents hoping to feed their fireworks cravings will be able to do so at public fireworks displays, including the fireworks display Sunday night at the Mandeville Seafood Festival.

Even with the various legal fireworks attractions, Slidell police spokesman Capt. Kevin O'Neil, said the Fourth of July is a busy time for officers because of fireworks.

"It's a real burden for our dispatchers," O'Neil said. "We get so many fireworks complaints that we put them all under one item."

He said officers try to enforce the fireworks regulations, but with the number of calls, it is hard to check out every complaint.

"We are not trying to ruin anyone's celebration," O'Neil said. "Mostly we tell people not to use the fireworks, and may confiscate them."

Like Ricca, O'Neil stresses that safety is the main concern of Slidell police when it comes to fireworks. Even though he said he hasn't heard of any fireworks-related injuries in Slidell in the past couple of years, he said that kids have a tendency not to use fireworks safely.

"We have a problem here where kids will shoot Roman candles at each other, which is pretty stupid," O'Neil said.

The St. Tammany Sheriff's Office is also concerned with safety. Though fireworks, with the exception of projectile devices, are legal in the unincorporated parts of the parish, Sheriff's Office spokesman George Bonnett said deputies will be on the lookout for dangerous situations.

"We don't see a tremendous number of injuries, and we attribute that to residents who are using fireworks safely," Bonnett said.

He said the Sheriff's Office does get a lot of calls from residents who report dangerous situations, and he encourages anyone to call 911 if they see someone using fireworks in a dangerous manner.

Ricca offers several safeguards to minimize injury when using fireworks:

  • Discuss safety procedures with children if they are going to use fireworks. Teach them to "stop, drop and roll" if their clothes catch fire.

  • Have a pail of water or fire extinguisher nearby in case of fire or accidents.

  • Never use fireworks indoors.

  • Never aim or throw fireworks at another person.

  • Read firework labels carefully and follow directions.

  • Make sure spectators are out of range and never place your face or body over fireworks.

  • Never try to re-ignite a firework that has malfunctioned.

  • Never carry fireworks in your pocket.

  • Light fireworks on a smooth flat surface, away from houses, dry leaves and flammable materials.

  • Ricca also offered the following safeguards to avoid fire damage to houses and property while using fireworks:

  • Remove all pine straw and dry leaves from rooftops and rain gutters.

  • Clean the areas around structures on the property.

  • Wet down your roof and soak dry vegetation.

  • Make a visual inspection of your property after using fireworks and retiring for the night.

  • Make sure smoke detectors are working in your house.

    Ricca also reminds firework vendors that it is against state law to sell fireworks to anyone under the age of 15. He said fireworks can be beautiful, but they are also dangerous, and people have to be very careful when handling them.

    "Because of the unpredictable nature of fireworks, when things go wrong, the results can be disastrous," Ricca said.

    (Joe Luna contributed.)

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