Dr. Lipoff: firework safety and the HVFD fireworks this weekend

“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

I appreciate the irony of writing about safety when it comes to fireworks considering as a youngster I blew up a frozen watermelon with a M80 and launched a few skyrockets on several ill-advised occasions. Ask me and I’ll tell you but I don’t want to give kids any crazy ideas.

Having children of my own I have accepted the role of responsibility and being the voice of reason. I certainly don’t want anything to happen to them especially after seeing my son bust his 2 front teeth out yesterday when he jumped toward a stump and stuck the landing with his face. Not pretty. Thank you Tender Care Dentistry.

Fireworks are believed to have originated in China thousands of years ago and they have made some wonderful improvements since the powders first burned in a bowl. Certain metals are added to provide colors when they explode. For instance; copper burns blue, strontium glows red, sodium makes yellow and barium creates green.

Marylanders are limited to fireworks that do not shoot anything in the air or cause explosions. That pretty much limits us to snakes, poppers, sparklers and fountains, but we know not everyone upholds to those rules.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission reports 60 percent of fireworks injuries occur around July 4^th and 1000 involve sparklers and bottle rockets. Twenty-three percent happen from firecrackers.

Here is a bullet list of safety ideas to try to implement in your household the next time you decide to entertain the family.