Fireworks Safety on Vashon

Fireworks season is upon us once again. The community of Vashon did a great job in the last two years keeping safe during fireworks season with no fireworks related incidents. For the last seven years Vashon’s fireworks related incident rate has been very low which is common where fireworks are thoughtfully regulated. Communities which have banned fireworks often have much higher catastrophic fire and injury rates due to the use of dangerous, illegal products.

To help people be safe this year, Vashon Island Fire and Rescue and Vashon Fireworks Company will be holding fireworks safety classes at Sound Food. The classes are short, and are open to all audiences. Classes will be held on Saturday June 30th at 3:00pm, Tuesday July 3rd at 1:00pm and Wednesday July 4th, at 10:30am.

Please be thoughtful about where you discharge fireworks, and try to keep them away from animals. As an alternative, quiet fireworks that have all the beauty, but very little noise are available on Vashon. If you are lighting fireworks in a grassy area, it is a good idea to water the grass a couple of hours before lighting things.

This last year, one of the main causes of fireworks related injuries in Washington state was from people holding devices when lighting them. Consult the directions of each device you use, and unless it says specifically that it is a handheld item, don’t hold it when lighting.

Watch out for illegal fireworks that are commonly sold by unlicensed stands. Most serious fireworks injuries are caused by illegal fireworks which include: firecrackers, rockets and 1.3g (professional display) fireworks. If the stand you buy from is licensed by WSDOT you can be sure that you are getting legal products.

Be safe, and have a happy, beautiful 4th of July!