Richland Fire officials offer safety tips ahead of July 4th holiday

RICHLAND, Wash.-- Residents in Richland can start buying fireworks this weekend, June 28th, and fire officials want you to keep safety in mind as you prepare for the July 4th holiday.

"The key thing in Richland is nothing that goes up in the air is legal," said Richland Fire Chief Tom Huntington. "So, ground fireworks are legal. The reality is most years the problems that we have in terms of fire danger and fire activity are related to illegal fireworks."

To avoid purchasing illegal fireworks, Huntington says you should only buy fireworks in Richland for use in Richland, because local retailers and fireworks stands can't sell fireworks that are illegal in the city limits.

Officials encourage you to keep a garden hose nearby while setting off fireworks, just in case embers spark a fire. And only allow adults 18 and older to handle fireworks.

The Washington State Fire Marshal's Office reported 331 fires and injuries related to fireworks in 2019, up from 301 in 2018.

Hungtington said fire safety doesn't end when you run out of fireworks to set off.

"People will throw away those spent fireworks into their plastic garbage cans. They sit in there and they get hot, and often get hot enough to reignite, particularly if there are other materials in the garbage can. People rolls those up to their garage at night, and 1:00, 3:00 in the morning they've got a garbage can fire that turns into a garage or house fire," Huntington said.

The last day to use fireworks in Richland this holiday is on July 5, 2020 at 11:00pm.

Jenna_K · Richland Fire Chief Tom Huntington on Fourth of July Safety