With all the fun that comes with setting up your fireworks, what about when it comes to properly storing them away?
We spoke with the Columbia County Fire Department, and they say sparklers are the safest to hold and easiest to dispose, but it’s important to know that there is a process when it comes to throwing away any fireworks.
“We all know fireworks can be enjoyed but we also wanna make sure we follow all the safety precautions with them and one of the things with that is storing them,” said Brent Willis, Assistant Chief of Administration Columbia County Fire Department.
When it comes to the right way to pack up your fireworks, experts say it’s important to take the same care that you do when you set them off.
“If you have any leftover fireworks from the Fourth what you would wanna do is to store them like in a plastic container you don’t wanna store them in anything that will catch on fire,” said Brent Willis, Assistant Chief of Administration Columbia County Fire Department.
That means cardboard boxes or plastic bags are off limits.
“I’d make sure they’re all shot off and then when you go towards them, soak them down with water because they catch up later on you and start a fire,” said Mary Baker, Employee at Wacky Waynes.
Mary Baker has been around fireworks for more than a decade. She says she’ll never forget the time she thought a firework was finished, only to find out it wasn’t.
“But once it went off my grandaughter even poured water on it with a bucket and we left and came back and it caught fire again. So you wanna make sure it out,” said Mary Baker, Employee at Wacky Waynes.
Chief Willis says that you also want to keep fireworks out of reach from kids, and areas that may become extremely hot, like a garage or storage area.
“You also wanna make sure keep them away from any ignition sources, you don’t want fireworks going off inside your home so you wanna make sure you keep them in a dry place,” said Brent Willis, Assistant Chief of Administration Columbia County Fire Department.
And thankfully, Chief Willis says it was a pretty quiet night for his crew, no calls about fireworks-related fires on the 4th.
“We hope everyone had a safe Independence Day and we hope to continue that trend throughout the summer, please you know just don’t get complacent and remember all of the safety throughout the summer,” said Brent Willis, Assistant Chief of Administration Columbia County Fire Department.
Top tips to dispose of fireworks:
- After you’ve used the firework, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to make sure they are fully extinguished.
- Then throw away in a non-flammable bag.
Top tips to store away fireworks:
- For extra fireworks, place them in a cool, dry area.
- Do NOT place extra fireworks in a cardboard box or plastic bags.
- Do NOT place fireworks in a very hot area like a utility building, or garage.
- Do NOT place fireworks in a very cold area.
