With the 4th of July weekend here, it is especially important to remember to practice fireworks safety. Not that fireworks and safety really go together!
We strongly recommend that you not use any fireworks at home. Enjoy the professional display over the river! Hood River Police have also indicated that any firework that explodes or flies into the air is not permitted…so basically, nothing except sparklers, which can burn as hot as 1800 degrees! We see minor injuries from sparklers and more serious injuries from fireworks each year. Sparklers burn generally between 1200-2000 degrees, hot enough to melt some metals—around the same temperature as a soldering gun! You wouldn’t give a young child a soldering gun, would you? Stories of a dropped sparkler melting a shoe and causing burns requiring a skin graft are not uncommon. Knowing that this is not always going to be listened to, if you do use fireworks, remember that kids should never play with fireworks. Adults should always remember to use eye protection around fireworks. And please, use great caution with kids and sparklers! To protect your health, avoid inhaling or having children inhale smoke from fireworks. To protect our environment, make sure fireworks of all kinds are extinguished thoroughly in water.
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