Backyard fireworks safety measures

Fireworks lit up the sky across Mid-Missouri to celebrate the Fourth of July Saturday night.

Many people also stocked up with fireworks to set off in their own backyard.

Lisa Adams, Co-Owner of SkyWriter Fireworks in Columbia, tells each of her customers how to properly use the fireworks they buy.

“We tell them to look on the packages and make sure they’re following the description,” she said. “We always tell them to have water next to them. Just in case there’s a mishap and something fires back at them, they want to make sure they have water available.”

Saturday remained calm for the Boone County Fire Protection District. They received no reports of firework-related accidents throughout the day. That’s compared to the more than 20 calls the Columbia Fire Department responded to over the holiday weekend.

Gale Blomenkamp, Battalion Chief, said they’ve responded to plenty of firework-related accidents in the past.

“Several years ago we had a young gentlemen that blew off parts of his fingers,” he said. “We have eye injuries, we have burns – those are the type of injuries we have potential to see.”

He said properly disposing used fireworks is an important safety precaution.

“We’ve had structure fires start as a result of spent fireworks catching on fire in a trash can,” he said. “So to prevent that people should have a metal bucket or a bucket of water and put those spent fireworks in the bucket of water and let them sit overnight.”

Blomenkamp said all the recent rain throughout the region has helped prevent fires from setting off fireworks.

Adams said she and her husband, a firefighter for Columbia, follow the same safety precautions they pass on to their customers.

“We have the hose and water buckets just in case,” she said. “We don’t let the kids do too many in their hands. Snappers are great for the kids and little fountains are fun for them to watch. A parent can light them – that’s what my husband and I do – and they just sit back and watch.”

It is illegal to set off fireworks within the Columbia city limits. There is no written ordinance for setting them off in Boone County, but if people complain you could be issued a disturbance of peace violation.

To report a fireworks nuisance call the Joint Communications Non-Emergency number at 573-442-6131.