Police offer these tips to avoid fireworks injuries: Children should not play with fireworks. Store fireworks in a cool, dry place away from the reach of children Always buy fireworks from reliable and licensed dealers. Use a clear, open area when lighting off fireworks. Keep your audience at a safe distance. Do not alter any fireworks or make your own fireworks. Never attempt to re-light, alter or fix any dud firework. Have a fire extinguisher, water supply, hose or bucket of water nearby. Never smoke when handling fireworks or use them indoors.
Sparklers and confetti poppers just won’t do for about a quarter of the customers at Stubs Fireworks, a roadside tent selling fireworks this week along Hwy. 16 in Onalaska.
“They ask, ‘Where’s the good stuff?’” employee Ryan Soffa said.
Like others, Soffa doesn’t understand the state’s nonsensical fireworks law: Buy almost anything you like, but setting off a firework that explodes or leaves the ground requires special permits.
They are rarely granted.
The La Crosse Fire Department gives permits only to large groups for community displays. Several who have asked for one this year were denied, La Crosse fire Capt. John Helfrich said.
“I tell them the city of La Crosse does not issue a permit for that purpose,” he said. “You’re best to enjoy the fireworks done by professionals.”
And, like drinking along the Maple Leaf Parade route and cruising in Riverside Park, laws against setting off illegal fireworks seldom are enforced. La Crosse police have written just 17 fireworks citations since 2009.
Firework complaints simply aren’t top priority for police over the Fourth of July holiday, when the city experiences an influx of people and alcohol-related problems.
“High-risk calls take precedence, but we will deal with fireworks calls,” La Crosse police Sgt. Kirk Flatten said. Those caught lighting fireworks in the city face a $101 citation.
Bottom line: The big ones are dangerous, Capt. Helfrich said.
About 8,600 people were hospitalized last year with fireworks injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Staff at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center treat a handful of people each year with burns from fireworks, hospital spokesman Brian Gilberts said.
Consumers bought 182 million pounds of fireworks in 2009, the latest figures available, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. Sales are expected to increase this year, thanks to relaxed laws in other parts of the country. The fireworks industry generated $952 million in revenue in 2010, a 56 percent increase from 2000, according to the association.
Sales are slow this year at Stubs Fireworks, which sells only legal fireworks, Soffa said. The owner ordered a 50 percent off sale on the remaining inventory, which retails between $10 to $90 for some variety packs.
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