It’s nearly the nation’s
birthday, and officials are
reminding the public to
celebrate responsibly.
For personal safety and
to minimize fire danger, firefighters advise people to leave
the fireworks to professionals
and to attend a public show.
Case in point: Five fireworks-related deaths and
at least five injuries already
have occurred this month in
Federal Way, Wash., Missouri,
and North Carolina.
A 14-year-old in Federal
Way lost his left hand and
injured his other hand June 20
while playing with fireworks,
according to the town’s South
King Fire Department.
A firework had blown up in
the teen’s hand. A 10-yearold also was injured. Both
kids were taken to Harborview Medical Center for
treatment. It wasn’t known
what kind of fireworks the
teen was handling.
Murder charges have
been filed for a June 17
house explosion near Black
Jack, Mo., that killed a man
and three teenagers who
were assembling fireworks
in a garage.
Terrell Cooks,
37, and Seneca Mahan, 43,
provided materials to create
explosive powder that would
be loaded into fireworks canisters at the home, according to
charging documents.
And a June 10 brush fire
on a North Carolina farm
caused fireworks to explode
inside a container where
they were stored, killing
one person and injuring three
firefighters — one critically
— authorities said.
Lenoir County Emergency
Services Director Murry
Stroud said firefighters were
dispatched to put out a
reported brush fire at a farm
in La Grange, N.C., as flames
were approaching a building.
He said fields were being
burned off when the fire
spread and detonated the fireworks stored in a container.
Authorities said a representative for the property was the
person who died at the scene.
For those who opt to celebrate by lighting their own
fireworks, a list of safety precautions can be found in the
graphic at left