The 4th of July is approaching fast and sadly we are begining to discover that the COVID-19 virus is going to steal most of that fun too. Many of our local towns will be skipping their parades and their fireworks. This has most of us disappointed and some of us considering a home display. That got me thinking about safety.

There a few safety tips that should be obvious when it comes to playing with fireworks one of which is that you aren't playing. Fireworks need to be taken seriously. I have seen some pretty serious errors in judgement over my lifetime with people and fireworks so please make sure you think safety first. Something as simple as a sparkler can cause life altering wounds. Don't believe me, just ask the friend of mine that thought lighting 20 of them all at once in his hand was a good idea.

Anyway, before I come off sounding anti firework and like the 4th of July party buzz kill let me share with you some tips I found online which made a lot of sense. All Pro Dads had some great practical tips you can read about by clicking here. They included things that seem simple but that you might not think are important until it is to late.

A few of the biggies for me are

  • Leave pets home or safe inside the house pets and fireworks don't mix
  • Never let young children light fireworks
  • Don't re-light fireworks or pick up a firework that doesn't seem to have fully ignited
  • And never put fireworks in your pockets

There are actually ten great tips so make sure you read them all before planning your backyard display. And FYI it is very dry this year so be sure to have the garden hose close by or maybe even skip the fireworks all together if we don't get any rain between now and July 4th. You local fire company will thank you.

There are some displays you can attend check out this list.

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