The Fourth of July is tomorrow – and the state fire marshal is pleading with people to take common-sense measures to avoid injuries and spot fires. The biggest piece of advice is to make sure if you buy fireworks for personal use in Missouri, that they are legal – sold by people who have one of the 12-hundred-55 permits issued by the state this year. Missouri State Fire Marshal Tim Bean says you have the right to ask to see any vendor’s permit.
A number of communities restrict or ban personal use of fireworks. Missouri has no laws about how old you have to be to handle fireworks, but Bean says children should be especially careful, particularly around sparklers. They burn at more than one-thousand degrees, and cause the most injuries – especially to children under age five.
Last year, federal statistics showed 91-hundred people ended up in the emergency room with injuries from fireworks. One 18-year- old man died after launching a mortar from a tube on top of his head. One piece of good news: Bean says the fire risk from dry brush is down this year, because the state has been inundated with rain.