After last year we will see if perhaps, because the holiday is midweek, fewer Americans will blow off a limb, burn down a house (or houses), or kill themselves and/or a loved one by mishandling fireworks this 4th of July week. However they are getting started early. Loud popping down the street is already causing panic in my dogs and there will be days more of this. Be careful out there.
I used to get the heavy-duty fireworks when my kids were younger- the mortar-style ones where you drop the shell in a launching tube, light it and stand way back. It was fun, and I always tried to be as safe as possible.
Then several years ago a richie-rich mansion on a nearby lake burned to the ground after a firework landed on the roof. And a local meteorologist lost an eye in a fireworks mishap. I decided, never again with the fireworks. No amount of safety precautions are going to prevent the fireworks from going somewhere you don’t want them to go. And I cross my fingers that nothing lands on my roof when neighbors shoot them off.
A guy I know is missing a finger from fireworks gone wrong, and the ordeal he went through freaks me out.
He was 8 years old when his parents divorced. His parents had shared custody and he was with his dad for July 4th. Dad took him to a party out of state (against the terms of the divorce decree, which was contentious). At the party dad gave his son some powerful firecrackers, one of which went off in his hand.
His dad freaked out. He wrapped his kid’s hand in a kitchen towel and started to drive. He couldn’t take him straight to an ER because he was afraid about being caught out of state with his son, so he just drove.
All this time the kid is screaming in pain. Once back in Pennsylvania, dad had to figure out where he could go and be covered, then he had to coach his son on what to say. He is an adult now, but hearing him tell the story is gut wrenching.
Maybe it just has to be this way. So much fun as a kid but is the flirtation with these somewhat dangerous devices part of the thrill for adults? Am I just a stick-in-the-mud noise-hating fuddy-duddy for focusing on the relatively few bad incidents instead of the vast majority of harmless explosions. Probably.
Still…
We have enough people in my general area that have a 4 day weekend for the pops to have been on and off since Friday. For the record though, it was generally a pop, or a quick rat-tat-tat until today 7/3. Since sundown, we’ve had a pop, rattle, or semi-big boom every 15 minutes or so. Tolerable, and the cats are putting up with it, but I’m dreading tomorrow.
Have the day off, but both myself and wife work the 5th, and she’s normally up at 5am after going to sleep around 8pm. I am going to fall back on some OTC sleep meds and my currently charging bluetooth sleepmask, as I did last year, and just hope that people will have gotten it out of their systems before 11pm for once. 
Goddammit. My new puppy currently lives in LaPine and won’t come home with me until mid-month. Anyone that threatened the life of my baby dog is worthy of scorn and derision!
Idiot.
One would expect that by now people would understand that in examining a fireworks or firearms malfunction you do not look into the business end of the tube part. But “it’s taking longer than we thought”.
A different form of potential harm from fireworks:
True. I’m staying NE of Seattle now and when I could finally open the window after the noise died down at 1 am, it was quite smoky. I thought of this thread, wising horrible things on those who thought firing off loud fireworks then was a good idea.
Quiet here tonight. Usually there are some leftover fireworks. Dogs are content.
+++++
and on and on…
It would take hours to post all the house fires, blown off limbs and other damaged property that are still showing up in new searches.
But I did also find more deaths. I will note them for the record.
Last year 11 people in the US died in fireworks accidents. Not sure how many were during the first July week but I am guessing most. So I am not sure if the 4th being on a Tuesday made any difference at all.
Getting maimed by forgotten undetonated explosives is usually a warzone thing
Vastly greater numbers are killed in other countries, for example Iraq where they are used in wedding celebrations:
Iraq’s civil defence said initial reports indicated that fireworks used during the celebration may have been the cause of the fire. “Preliminary information indicates that fireworks were used during a wedding, which triggered a fire in the hall,” civil defence authorities said in a statement early on Wednesday.
I’m afraid to understand this story – were they using fireworks inside the hall? What kind of fireworks? I presume it wasn’t sparklers. I’m trying to imagine a scenario where this isn’t Darwinism in action.
Not to mention that the building was apparently made of tissue paper and cardboard (“flammable materials”), did not have a sprinkler system or safety exits, and also had plastic in it that released toxic gasses. I suppose it’s possible that whoever rented the space was not aware of these factors (and didn’t bother to ask).
This reminds me a bit of the Station night club fire in Rhode Island where 100 died:
So they both probably had pyrotechnic displays…