Fire Dept. reminds people of local firework laws ahead of the Fourth of July

 

SOUTH MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The fun Fourth of July holiday weekend is here and for a lot of people that means fireworks. 

Health and fire officials are both warning people to be safe ahead of the fourth of July. 

They say people should not use at-home fireworks, instead leave it to professionals and go to parks to see big firework displays. 

This year many fireworks shows in the city of Milwaukee are taking place Monday, July 5. 

"They're taking off fingers because they're holding it in their hand," said Captain John Frost with the South Milwaukee Fire Department. 

He says they see it every year and he reminds people that most fireworks aren't legal in Milwaukee. 

"Just realize that the city of Milwaukee and the county of Milwaukee follows the state ordinance which requires only sparklers less than 36 inches and fountains that only emit sparks can be used," said Frost. "Anything that flies up in the air or makes a loud bang is actually illegal to use."

Using fireworks safely may seem like common sense, still doctors say every year thousands of people show up to the emergency room with injuries from at-home fireworks. in 2019 there were 10,000 firework related injuries in the Unites States. 

Still they know some people are going to use them this weekend. 

Josh Ross is an emergency medicine physician with UW Health. 

"If you're using fireworks at home, I'd say don't make your own fireworks, only use one firework at a time safely with an adult, make sure the adult is sober, not intoxicated, make sure you have water around," said Ross. 

Here are other firework safety tips from UW Health.