Bristol and South Bristol firefighters and first responders attended a fireworks safety demonstration courtesy of Pyro City at the Bristol/South Bristol Transfer Station June 12.
Pyro City representative Tom Stevens led the presentation with assistance from Scott Boucher.
Stevens said fireworks enthusiasts should know what a firework will do before lighting the fuse. Fireworks, even those that look similar, behave in different ways, he said.
Pyro City distributes a fireworks safety brochure with every purchase and gladly fields questions from customers in the store or on the phone, Stevens said. He also suggested YouTube as a source for videos of various brands of fireworks.
“It’s all about knowing what the product does,” Stevens said.
Reloadable fireworks – the consumer equivalent of mortars – demand a “heightened danger awareness,” Stevens said.
One should always place the firework inside the firing device before lighting it.
“Don’t buy reloadable fireworks without a firing device,” Stevens said. He especially warned against the amateur construction and use of homemade firing devices, typically made with PVC pipes.
The use of a homemade firing device of inadequate size or thickness for the explosive increases the danger of fire and/or injury, Stevens said.
“Use the device that it comes with so you’re safe,” he said.
Before reloading a firing device, one should also check to ensure it’s empty. Loading an explosive into a device with embers or flaming debris in it can cause a dangerous premature explosion.
Stevens also offered the following safety tips:
• Use fireworks outdoors on a hard, flat and level surface, not on grass or gravel.
• Choose a clear, open area free of overhead obstructions.
• Read and follow the label instructions.
• Always have a garden hose and a five-gallon bucket of water handy.
• Use a punk – a lighter similar in appearance to a stick of incense – or a road flare to light a fuse, not a Bic or other small lighter.
• If the fuse was lit, and the firework fails to explode, don’t assume it’s a dud and relight it or throw it away. Instead, wait 15-20 minutes and soak it in a bucket of water.
• Never carry fireworks in a pocket.
• Keep fireworks – even sparklers – away from children. It’s illegal in Maine for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase, possess or use fireworks.
Following a talk about fireworks safety and the varieties of fireworks Pyro City carries, Boucher and Stevens demonstrated many of the fireworks.
Bristol has formed a Fireworks Advisory Committee to research whether the town needs a fireworks ordinance and what limitations a potential ordinance should contain.
Pyro City has five locations in Maine, including a retail store at 36 Rt. 1 in Edgecomb.
