USE EM WHERES YOUS BUYS EM... FIREWORKS

Celebrate Fourth of July

Article Launched:07/01/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT

Know the law
Which fireworks are legal, and where are they legal?

In some cities, it's legal to buy certain types of fireworks. In Adelanto, Chino, Colton (not including the Reche Canyon area), Fontana, Grand Terrace, Rialto and San Bernardino south of 40th Street, you might see some small fireworks stands. It's only legal to use those fireworks where it's legal to buy them, said CDF spokesman Bill Peters. The fireworks have to have a state fire marshal safe-and-sane seal, at left.

Typically, those are sparklers or the cones that send out colored sparks. Anything that explodes or flies through the air is illegal, Peters said. In some cities, like Colton, you could get fined $1,000 the first time you're caught breaking fireworks laws.

A few years ago, a couple of people skipping sticks of dynamite on a lake in Highland started a fire that ended up killing a firefighter fighting the blaze from a helicopter, Peters said.
Safety first

CDF spokesman Bill Peters has some tips to keep you safe when you use legal fireworks:
Don't let small children light fireworks.
Don't use an open flame to light them.
Don't put your face over the fire when lighting them.
Move away quickly after lighting fireworks.
If the fuse doesn't ignite, don't try again.

Keep a five-gallon bucket of water nearby, and after a firework is done burning and has cooled off, put it in water.

Public fireworks shows are safer
After an accident at a fireworks show in Marysville about seven years ago, the state enacted new restrictions on public displays, CDF spokesman Bill Peters said. A mortar landed in a girl's lap and exploded, causing her to lose a leg.

Peters said a fire official is at each display, and a fire engine is on standby. The people putting on the show have to be trained by the state fire marshal. The accident involving the girl happened at least in part because people were too close to the launching area, Peters said.

A little town called Pahrump

A small community with a funny name just across the Nevada border is the source of literally tons of illegal activity in California.

In Pahrump, it is legal to buy fireworks that aren't legal in California. The funny thing is that it's not even legal to use fireworks there - just to buy them.

Last year, a multiagency law-enforcement team targeting the roads from Pahrump cited more than 70 people carrying illegal fireworks and captured more than 90,000 pounds of the fireworks, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Bill Peters.
People leave this Nevada town and head back through California by way of Baker, he said.
Depending on the amount of fireworks or powder violators are caught with, it could be a felony.

Is July 4 the wrong day?
Almost everyone calls July 4 "Independence Day," but it was two days earlier that the colonies actually declared their independence from the British crown. On July 2, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence. So what happened on July 4? That's the day the Declaration of Independence is dated, even though it wasn't signed until August.