The pinnacle of summer celebrations is upon us. The Fourth of July is highlight of the season with family gatherings, patriotic remembrances, picnics and of course. fireworks. While they are loud, exciting and beautiful when properly handled, fireworks present a major threat to our homes, families and workplaces.

For example, did you know that:

---Fireworks started an estimated 31,302 fires in 2022, including 3,504 structure fires, 887 vehicle fires, 26,492 outside fires, and 418 unclassified fires, and that these fires caused an estimated six civilian deaths, 44 civilian injuries and over $100 Million in direct property damage.

---In 2022, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2022 Fireworks Annual Report, U.S hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 10,200 people for fireworks related injuries; Over half of those injuries were to the extremities (29% hands and fingers, 19% legs, 5% arms) and 35% were to the eyes or other parts of the head, and children younger than 15 years of age accounted for 28% of the estimated 2022 injuries.

These may just look like statistics but imagine the cries of all those injured parties, especially the children. Plus, fire doesn't care if its a holiday or not. It just wants to destroy whatever it sees.

We urge you to please be careful with fireworks and keep Spring Township safe. For guidance on approved vendors of fireworks and fireworks safety in general, please contact the Township Fire Marshal’s office at 610-898-1452 Extension 4. You can also visit our friends at NFPA at this link https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/home-fire-safety/fireworks.