Jacksonville, FL — If your Fourth of July plans involve setting off your own fireworks, you're being urged to make safety a top priority.
Randy Wyse, the President of the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters, says one of the most important things to do is read the instructions of the fireworks and make sure you understand how it works, so you know if something is wrong.
"If a firework doesn't do what it says it's going to do, it's best to just not even approach it. Let it sit. Let it lay for hours, because what you don't want to do is, obviously, walk up to something and have it either go off or cause some injury," says Wyse.
While setting off fireworks, he recommends that everyone stay a good distance away, probably 100 feet or so.
Wyse says while you typically hear stories about people being hurt in explosions from fireworks, burns are also a big problem.
"A lot of times you want to give a small kid a sparkler cause it's kind of fun, but then they reach up and touch it. Those sparklers reach a very hot temperature, very quickly and can injure anyone that comes into contact with it," says Wyse.
Once a firework has gone off, he says it's essential to submerge it in a bucket of water.
"We've responded to many fires every year of someone that just quickly throws either hot sparklers or some sort of firework that may be still smoldering into a trash can. They go to bed, it's late. The trash can catches on fire and catches the house on fire," explains Wyse.
He also reminds you that many of the popular fireworks you see are actually illegal.
"Fireworks that actually have report, or explode, are illegal, so [you] shouldn't be using those, but those that emit sparks and things like that are legal to use," says Wyse.
Ultimately, he says the best and safest way to enjoy fireworks is to go to downtown and enjoy the professional show by the City of Jacksonville.
