Safety for the Fourth of July
The Fourth of July is coming up. Time to talk to your kids about the fireworks and safety. Although the amount of firework related injuries has been decreasing in Washington State due to safer laws regulating the sale and use of fireworks, in 2004 there were 1,110 fireworks-related injuries and/or fires reported to the state fire marshal by fire departments and hospital emergency rooms. In 18% of these incidents, there was no adult supervision. We are urging all parents to closely supervise their children when using fireworks.
A recent U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report finds that nearly 70 percent of all fireworks-related injuries take place around the 4th of July holiday. The study also found that more than 50 percent of those injuries occur to children and teenagers. The top three injury-causing fireworks are firecrackers, sparklers, and rockets. Those fireworks account for nearly half of all injuries.
This month's safety tip is brought to you by Firefighter Daniel, our Web site's Public Safety Representative. Daniel is one of
WCFD #14's firefighters and lives in the Sumas area. Daniel has been a member of our fire district for 6 years.