Published: July 03, 2008 11:57 am            

Officials: Don’t let Fourth of July fun go up in smoke

PRINCETON — With the annual fireworks display in Princeton canceled, some people may celebrate Independence Day much closer to home.

But fire-safety officials emphasized this week that only certain kinds of fireworks are legal in West Virginia, and safety is always a concern when using them.

Capt. M.S. Barker, of the Princeton Fire Department, offered several tips to stay safe when celebrating Independence Day.

Sparklers are often popular children, but Barker cautioned adults not to let children handle them. They are dangerous because they have a high temperature, sometimes climbing as high as 1,200 degrees, and the PFD captain said they could catch clothes or other items on fire if held too close .

Barker said the use of sparklers should always be supervised by an adult.

Anything that leaves the ground is illegal to use in West Virginia. Barker said to use only legal fireworks and a longer lighters for safety reasons. People can get burned when lighting the fireworks if a longer lighter isn’t used.

One place residents go annually to buy fireworks is the tent near Wal-Mart that’s run by members of the Princeton Apostolic Church. Kathy Hall said all the proceeds benefit the church and its programs, such as the drug and alcohol program, food bank and church renovation project. She said sales of variety packages have been brisk.

“We sold our two $230 packages that have a variety of different things. It was called the ‘Big One.’ We still have the ‘Big Time’ packages that have a variety, but they’re a little smaller. It’s unusual that we sold the packages early,” she said. “Those usually go at the end.”

She said single-package items usually go first.

She said the lack of a public fireworks display in Princeton has boosted sales this year. “The people said they’re disappointed the city’s isn’t having them,” Hall said.

The tent is open until midnight tonight.

“This is our seventh year,” she said. “We ask the customers if they have kids. We try to take a personal approach. It’s our job to know the product.”

The products show on a scale of one to four how loud the item will be and how much color it’s expected to produce.

If you’re going to be setting off fireworks, make sure you’re in a place where you won’t catch the ground on fire. Barker said he knows of cases where people have set off fireworks in fields, and then accidentally set the field on fire.

“The legal ones you can do in your yard,” he said.

But, always keep a bucket of water nearby, and don’t try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks. Douse and soak them in water before properly disposing of them.

Sometimes it’s easy to get types of fireworks confused, but it can be a dangerous mistake. The M1 firecracker is a “smoking type deal” Barker said, like a smoke bomb. It can be confused with the M-80 firecracker because they look alike. The M-80, however, is larger and much more powerful. Barker said a M-80 is powerful enough to explode a cantaloupe if placed inside.

According to information provided by the West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office, novelties such as “snakes,” “glow worms,” smoke devices, sparklers and sparkler devices cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 16. The most dangerous types of fireworks prohibited by law include large, reloadable shells, M-80 salutes, firecrackers, cherry bombs and aerial bombs.

“Supervision is the main thing,” Barker said when making sure your celebration this July 4th is a safe one.

— Contact Mark Blevins at

mblevins@ptonline.net.

        

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