The greatest threat from fireworks comes from those who choose to violate the law and use illegal fireworks usually purchased outside the valley. Illegal fireworks are characterized by the following:

• Explode (fire crackers, cherry bombs, etc.)
• Rocket (bottle rockets, roman candles, etc.)

• Use only Safe n Sane fireworks and only the way they were designed
• Have a pre-connected garden hose handy in case a fire breaks out
• Maintain several five gallon buckets filled with water where you can place discharged fireworks
• Use fireworks on flat, hard surfaces such as parking lots, cul-de-sacs, etc. away from buildings, vehicles, dry brush, etc.
• View our fireworks safety tips.

• Coordinate lighting the items so that everyone in the group anticipates when they will be set off and is not surprised
• Keep a close watch on children and pets. Make sure neither get close to items that are going off
• Keep fireworks out of small children's hands (sparklers have been a popular item to give youngsters in the past, but they get hot enough to cause clothes to catch fire or bad skin burns)
• If an item fails to light keep everyone away from it for a number of minutes (sometimes a fuse malfunctions enough to slow the ignition time down, but it ignites seconds later)
• If a firework malfunctions or lands somewhere where it is not supposed to, make sure someone with a water supply can get to it and put it out
• If someone's clothes catch fire, help them to stop, drop, and roll. Any burns should be treated with cool water and gauze. If the burn blisters, seek medical help.

• Place discharged fireworks in a bucket of water overnight to make certain they do not re-ignite
• Check the area where fireworks were set off and conduct a wide sweep around the area (including roof tops) to make certain that no sparks or other heated parts remain that could cause something to ignite later.