Chief: Have Water On Hand For Fireworks

With the dry conditions of the last few weeks, fire safety will be a must as fireworks explode over the region.

Livingston Fire Chief Rocky Dial said people need to be aware of their surroundings and shoot fireworks in open areas like fields. Dial said fireworks can pose unique risks even beyond the typical kinds of accidental fires.

“A fire doubles in size every minute, you know,” Dial said. “And that’s something you have to be aware of, especially, you know, with homes and – and the shingles and leaves that’s piled up in the gutters and stuff such as that, you know. If it gets on the roof and it falls down into the gutter and the gutters have not been cleaned regularly, you know, you could have a fire start there in that gutter.”

Dial said people should keep a garden hose nearby and water the land before using fireworks if it is too dry. He said they should also have a five-gallon bucket of water on hand so used fireworks can be put into it to prevent reigniting.

“There is always a risk with fire when it gets dry and it is increased with the use of fireworks,” Dial said.

Dial said everyone should be prepared for a fire-related emergency, even if they are not using fireworks themselves.

“Keep a vigilant eye out and, you know, keep an eye out for your neighbors and your house as well, and your yards and stuff,” Dial said. “Of course, we’ve had a little rain, so that’s helped a little, but it’s still fairly dry out.”

Dial said any firework that is lit but does not go off needs to be dealt with using extreme care.

“They need to stay away from it for several minutes to make sure that it is not just some kind of big delay in the device, and once they’ve – they determined that it’s not going to go off, get that device and put it in a bucket of water to prevent it from going off later on,” Dial said.

Dial said parents should monitor any teenagers using fireworks to make sure they are using them safely.