Public fireworks displays offer safe fun

The skies over coastal Delaware will light up over the Fourth of July holiday weekend with a variety of pyrotechnics displays.

But not all of them will be legal.

Delaware is one of only five states in the country that ban all consumer fireworks. That includes everything from the seemingly innocuous sparklers to small fountains to large rockets. (Only toy guns using paper caps and explosives approved for agricultural use — such as frightening birds — are exempted from Delaware’s ban.)

Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island are the only other states where consumer fireworks are completely banned. (The number of states banning all consumer fireworks is actually down from 10 in 2002.)

All fireworks displays in Delaware require not only a license from the state fire marshal’s office but $1 million in insurance. And fines range from $25 to $100 for violations.

Despite the law, each year holiday revelers bring their own fireworks with them to the beach or travel over the state line to Maryland to purchase a supply. Those actions themselves are illegal under Delaware law, since simple possession of fireworks is against the law.

And police officers in South Bethany and other coastal towns routinely bring out the ATV’s and bicycles for the holiday, to try to reach the shooters of those illegal fireworks for citations before they managed to scramble away into the darkness.

Why the tough stance on what has historically been viewed as good, clean, patriotic fun for the family?

“Safe and sane fireworks don’t exist,” said Dr. John Hall, division manager of Fire Analysis and Research for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a combined group of organizations for health and fire professionals. “When things go wrong with fireworks, they go very wrong, very fast – far faster than any fire protection provisions can reliably respond.”

In recent years, according to NFPA, fireworks have been one of the leading causes of injuries serious enough to require hospital emergency room treatment. Fireworks can result in severe burns, fractures or scars or even death or disfigurement that can last a lifetime. The thousands of serious injuries each year typically harm the eyes, head, or hands and are mostly reported in states where fireworks are legal. Even sparklers, which are considered by many to be harmless, reach temperatures of more than 1,000° F.

“Fireworks are dangerous and unpredictable, especially in the hands of amateurs,” said Judy Comoletti, NFPA’s division manager of Public Education. “The few seconds of pleasure those fireworks may bring are not worth the risk of injury, permanent scarring or even death.”

Homes, property also at risk

Wooded areas, homes and even automobiles have become engulfed in flames because of fireworks. Fireworks-related fires have typically caused at least $20 million in property loss (not adjusted for inflation) each year in recent years, according to NFPA.

A substantial portion of the structure fire property loss due to fireworks typically involves bottle rockets or other fireworks rockets, they said. These rockets can land on rooftops or wedge within certain structures and still retain enough heat to cause a fire – a major concern for residents of coastal towns, where such fireworks might be shot from the beach and land on a roof instead of in the sea or sand.

“For most people, their family and their home represent the hard work of a lifetime and their hopes for the future,” said Hall. “No one would risk losing what’s most important to them if they understood the dangers of fireworks. There are safer alternatives to using fireworks on the Fourth of July.”

Public fireworks displays are one of those alternatives. Conducted by trained professionals, NFPA said, these displays are the smartest and safest fireworks alternative for anyone because they are established under controlled settings and regulations.

After these displays, NFPA noted, or any other time, children should never pick up fireworks that may be left over. Fireworks that have been ignited and fail to immediately explode or discharge can cause injury because they may still be active. Children should always tell an adult if they find fireworks rather than picking up smoking or charred fireworks themselves, which is just too risky, NFPA warned.

Statistics reveal the danger

The NFPA has cited the following statistics to show how significant the safety concerns about fireworks are:

• In 2006, fireworks caused an estimated 32,600 reported fires, including 1,700 total structure fires, 600 vehicle fires and 30,300 outside and other fires. These fires resulted in an estimated six civilian deaths, 70 civilian injuries and $34 million in direct property damage.

• In 2007, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 9,800 people for fireworks related injuries; 56 percent of 2007 emergency room fireworks-related injuries were to the extremities and 36 percent were to the head.

• The risk of fireworks injury was 2.5 times as high for children ages 5-9 or 10-14 as for the general population.

• On Independence Day in a typical year, more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day, and fireworks account for half of those fires, more than any other cause of fires.

• The trend in fireworks-related injuries has been mostly up since 1996, with spikes in 2000-2001, primarily due to celebrations around the advent of a new millennium, and in 2005. The highest injury rates were for children 10 to 14.

• In 2006, 9 out of 10 emergency-room fireworks injuries involved fireworks that federal regulations permit consumers to use.

• Some 49 percent of 2006 emergency-room fireworks-related injuries were to the extremities; 46 percent were to the head. In all, 55 percent of the 2006 fireworks injuries were burns, while 30 percent were contusions and lacerations.

• Sparklers, fountains and novelty fireworks alone accounted for 28 percent of the emergency-room fireworks injuries in 2006. A 9-year-old Virginia boy was burned over more than 40 percent of his body in 2008, after his clothes were ignited by a sparkler.

• Risk factors multiplied: The risk of fire death relative to exposure shows fireworks to be the riskiest consumer product. The risk that someone will die from fire when fireworks are being used is higher relative to exposure time than the risk of fire death when a cigarette is being smoked.

• The risks with fireworks are not limited to displays, public or private. Risks also exist wherever fireworks are manufactured, transported or stored.

• “Safe and sane” fireworks are neither, notes the NFPA, since fireworks and sparklers are designed to explode or throw off showers of hot sparks. Temperatures may exceed 1,200° F.

• In 2005, fireworks caused an estimated 1,800 total structure fires and 700 vehicle fires reported to fire departments. These 2,500 fires resulted in an estimated 60 civilian injuries and $39 million in direct property damage. There were no reported civilian deaths.

• The estimated injury risk from legal fireworks was 14 times as high in the states that permitted sparklers and novelties compared to the full-ban states. In states that permit most or all consumer fireworks, the estimated injury risk was 57 times as high compared to states that ban the use of all consumer fireworks.

Varying state laws blur the lines

The NFPA has pointed directly to concerns with varying state laws on fireworks, noting the tendency of consumers to cross state borders to buy what they can’t find in their own state due to restrictions like those in Delaware.

“It is very difficult to enforce restrictions on fireworks use through state laws because residents of a state that prohibits fireworks can often cross a state border to buy the devices. Every year, for example, people from Massachusetts drive into neighboring New Hampshire to buy fireworks from retail stands that set up near the border.”

In contrast to Delaware’s ban, in neighboring Maryland the law allows consumers to possess and use sparklers; “non-aerial, non-explosive, ground-based” devices and small explosives like paper-wrapped snappers and “snakes.”

And many of those who would shy away from handing a child a Roman candle or M-80 (the latter is now considered a federally banned explosive of a type still responsible for one third of all “fireworks” injuries) will overlook Delaware’s law to break out a package of sparklers for fun on the Fourth of July. Indeed, a nostalgic scene from the 2006 live-action adaptation of “Charlotte’s Web” featured children running with sparklers.

But safety experts at the National Council on Fireworks Safety warn that fireworks of any variety should never be given to children, while representatives of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission specify: “Sparklers, considered by many the ideal ‘safe’ firework for the young, burn at very high temperatures and can easily ignite clothing. Children cannot understand the danger involved and cannot act appropriately in case of emergency.”

Local public displays offer safe fun

Despite the majority of states that allow consumers to possess and use some varieties of fireworks, the NFPA does not endorse the use of consumer fireworks and instead encourages the public to enjoy displays of fireworks conducted by trained professionals.

The area will offer several such displays on Saturday, July 4:

• The pyrotechnics in Bethany Beach, slated to be shot from the expanded beach again this year, are set to light up the skies from the Wellington Parkway area around dusk — approximately 9:20 p.m. It can generally also be seen from the beaches to the north and south of the town, as well as a short distance inland.

With parking likely to be at a premium, the town trolley will be running throughout the day, at a cost of 50 cents per passenger, with stops throughout the town, and can be hailed along most of its route.

• The 2009 Rehoboth Beach Fireworks Show will be launched from the beach and can generally be seen from Rehoboth Avenue, the boardwalk and shoreline. Fireworks launch time is approximately 9:15 p.m., following a concert at the town’s bandstand from 8 to 9 p.m. by US Navy Country Current. After the fireworks, The Funsters will be performing at the bandstand.

(Fireworks could go off as early as 8 p.m. if the weather is threatening. The rain date is the following night, July 5. Call 302-227-2772 for weather updates and plan to arrive in town early.)

Those wishing to attend are being advised to use the shuttle service from Route 1 at the field between County Bank and Jungle Jims. Buses will start at 5 p.m. and bring people into town by 8:45 p.m.; then the shuttle runs again after the fireworks until past 11 p.m., or until everyone is out of town. Parking costs $10 per car.

The Jolly Trolley Shuttle will operate 8 a.m. until around 2 a.m. The regular route will be altered between 6 and 11 p.m., while Rehoboth Avenue is closed. The Jolly Trolley will have a stop on Christian Street, uptown, behind Jack Lingo Realtor.

• Ocean City will host displays from Northside Park (125th Street) and the beach at North Division Street, both starting about 9:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July. The events offer a family concert by Rick K and the Allnighters, followed by fireworks on the beach at North Division Street, or visit Northside Park, 127th Street and the Bay, for a concert by Dr. K’s Motown Review, also followed by fireworks.

Public transportation is available to both locations. For more information about Ocean City’s Fourth of July, call the Ocean City Department of Recreation and Parks at (410) 250-0125.