With 4th of July less than a week away, Perry Fire Chief Grason Hill offers some reminders about firework safety.

Hill tells Raccoon Valley Radio that fireworks of any kind are not safe and recommends children not to use them. He highly advises against people handling fireworks while they’re intoxicated as it can lead to a dangerous outcome. Hill mentions with the temperatures being hotter, improperly shooting off fireworks is enough to start fires.

“These fireworks are very explosive. It’s just a dangerous time because 4th of July we know is a hot, dry time of the year, and the fire potential is always there, even if people go out in the country, you have to be extremely careful because there’s so much more dry grass. You don’t want to start a fire or somebody’s house on fire, things like that.”

Hill illustrates that sparklers are safer for children to use, but can reach a temperature of 2,000°, and encourages people to have a bucket of water nearby to drop the sparklers in afterwards. He elaborates the next steps to take if a person suffers from an unintentional burn from a firework.

“First thing you want to do is try to remove the clothing from around the burn, and then you want to get like a cold wet rag and really put on it to try to bring the temperature down, and if it’s severe enough, you’re going to have to get ahold of your doctor.”

Hill reiterates that if you plan to shoot fireworks, then be in an open area away from flammable objects, and have a fire extinguisher readily available just in case of a sudden fire.