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By KRISTA HAYES
Staff Writer
With Independence Day this weekend, state and local fire officials are asking residents to remember the importance of fireworks safety.
“Fireworks are very dangerous,” said Wapakoneta Fire Chief Kendall Krites. “They’re an explosive device that people have typically enjoyed and used for years. However over time, people tend to want to have bigger and better displays each year but don’t inherently stop to think about the effects fireworks could have on them and others if an explosion or accident were to occur.”
Although Krites admits that he can’t site any specific incidents during his career at the Wapakoneta Fire Department where he has been called to treat a fireworks-related injury, he said that he and the department are more than prepared to respond if needed.
“We’ve all been through numerous seminars, training sessions and have seen videos or PowerPoint presentations with people missing digits such as fingers and hands, and have even seen deaths that have occurred from fireworks explosions,” Krites said. “Auglaize County has been very fortunate not to have any serious fireworks-related deaths or injuries, although I’m sure there are those in the community who have already purchased illegal fireworks for the Fourth of July.”
Although Krites has never had to respond to a complaint involving the use of illegal fireworks by local and area residents, he said it is important for all community members to follow state laws when purchasing and discharging fireworks.
“When purchasing illegal fireworks, all consumers must sign a waiver saying that they will take them out-of-state to discharge within 48 hours and if they fail to do so, then they are breaking the law,” Krites said. “In my position, I encourage local and area residents to obey the law and not set off illegal fireworks. Instead, if they want to see something bigger, then they should attend a professional fireworks show.” Like Krites, Donald Cooper, the Ohio State Interim Fire Marshal, also is encouraging Ohioans to attend public works displays hosted by local municipalities and licensed exhibitors in order to reduce the risk of fire and injury this July 4.
“The best way for Ohioans to prevent fireworks injuries is to attend a licensed, professional fireworks exhibition,” Cooper said. “Ohioans need to keep in mind that even trick and novelty fireworks, like sparklers, are inherently dangerous and can cause serious injury.”
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC), in 2007 approximately 9,800 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireworks. More than half the injuries were burns and most involved the hands, eyes and legs. Children 10 to 14 years of age had the highest per capita injury rate among all age groups, although there is no specific system in existence today for tracking such injuries in Ohio.
Between June 16 and July 16, 2006, the National Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that firecrackers were associated with the greatest number of estimated injuries at a total of 1,300, while there were 1,000 injuries associated with sparklers and 800 with rockets. Likewise, the CDC also reported that sparklers accounted for one-third of the injuries sustained to children younger than 5, and between 2000-2005, more than one-third of fireworks-related deaths involved professional devices that were illegally sold to consumers.
Cooper said the only types of fireworks that can be legally purchased and discharged in Ohio are trick and novelty devices. These include items that smoke, sparkle, snap and snake.
Under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act, the CSPC prohibits the sale of the most dangerous types of fireworks and the components intended to make them.
The banned fireworks include various large aerial devices, M-80’s, quarter-sticks, half-sticks and other large firecrackers. Any firecracker with more than 50 milligrams of explosive powder and any aerial firework with more than 130 milligrams of flash powder is banned under federal law, as are mail order kits and components designed to build them.
Other fireworks, like those sold at fireworks stores around Ohio, can be legally purchased in the state, but Cooper said they must be taken out of Ohio to discharge.
“You must be at least 18 years of age to buy items such as firecrackers and bottle rockets at the stores you see along the roadways of Ohio,” Cooper said, “but firing them off within state boundaries is prohibited.”
Under Ohio’s fireworks law, stiff penalties can be applied for the illegal possession or discharge of fireworks. It is a first-degree misdemeanor for non-licensed individuals to discharge fireworks in Ohio, to falsify an application when purchasing fireworks or to possess them for more than 48 hours without taking them out-of-state.
Cooper said first-time offenders are subject to up to a $1,000 fine and six months imprisonment. In addition to criminal prosecution, licensed fireworks manufacturers and wholesalers are also subject to administrative enforcement actions for violations.
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