Holliston July 2016

Page 18 Local Town Pages www.hollistontownnews.com July 2016
Fire Officials Urge the Public to
Leave the Fireworks to the Professional
Last Fourth of July weekend,
two members of the National
Football League demonstrated
just how dangerous fireworks
can be. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
cornerback C. J. Wilson was
forced to retire from a promising
football career after losing
two fingers from fireworks on
the Fourth of July weekend.
That same weekend, Giants
defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul
mangled his hand with fireworks.
Both of these national
athletes set a negative example
for impressionable youth.
Closer to home, on July 4, 2015,
the Saugus Fire Department
was called to 7 Oak Point Road
for a hand injury to a 23-year
old man. The man was lighting
off commercial and consumer
grade fireworks in his
backyard. An explosion injured
his hand and he lost multiple
fingers. He was med-flighted
to Massachusetts General Hospital
for surgery. A large cache
of fireworks were discovered
in a bedroom at the residence.
State Fire Marshal Peter J.
Ostroskey said, “This year,
set a good example for your
children and leave the fireworks
to the professionals
this Fourth of July holiday.”
On July 5, 2015, a 9-year old
boy from Boston received burns
to 15% of his body surface area
and lost one of his hands when
the fireworks he was holding exploded
in his hand. His 5-year
old male friend was also injured.
Ostroskey said, “Children imitate
adults. If you use fireworks,
children will copy you, not realizing
how very dangerous
fireworks are.” Fifty-one percent
of fireworks-related burn
injuries reported by hospitals
to the Office of the State Fire
Marshal in the last 10 years
(2006-2015) were to children
under age 18. More than a
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4th of July No Holiday for
Firefighters Wellesley Fire
Chief Rick DeLorie, president
of the Fire Chiefs’ Association
of Massachusetts, said, “The
Fourth of July holiday is a busy
time for firefighters making sure
the professional displays are conducted
properly and are safe for
the public; we’re busy responding
to all types of fires and medical
emergencies,” said Chief
DeLorie. “In fact, the week of
July 4 is one of the busiest times
of the year for fires,” he added.
Nearly 800 Major Fires &
Explosions from Fireworks
In the past decade (2006-2015)
there have been 775 major fire
and explosion incidents involving
illegal fireworks reported to
the Massachusetts Fire Incident
Reporting System (MFIRS).
These 775 fires and explosions
caused 11 civilian injuries, four
fire service injuries, and an estimated
dollar loss of $1.8 million.
This is quite a substantial
amount since most fireworks related
fires are outside brush fires
and do not usually have high
loss figures.
On January 1, 2015 at 7:58
p.m., the Westfield Fire Department
was called to a 1-acre grass
fire in a farmer’s field. The fire
was started by fireworks. Crews
were on scene for one hour.
On May 22, 2015, at 3:36
p.m., the Huntington Fire Department
was called to a 3-acre
brush fire started by fireworks.
Firefighters were on scene for
over three hours.
On June 27, 2015, at 6:11
p.m., the Brewster Fire Department
was called to a 2- acre grass
fire on Crosby Lane. The fire was
started by fireworks. It took companies
almost an hour and a half
to extinguish the fire.
A majority of fireworks fires
and injuries occurred during
the week of the Fourth of July
holiday.
On July 4, 2015, a 48-year old
Boylston man received burns to
his legs from fireworks at an (illegal)
show at Lake Hiawatha in
Blackstone, MA. Empty mortarstyle
fireworks boxes were tossed
into a bonfire after they were
used. An unexploded one ignited
and struck him in his legs.
On July 4, 2015, at 11:27
p.m., the Brockton Fire Department
responded to a fire in a
pick-up truck that was started by
fireworks. The owner had been
setting off fireworks in his driveway.
He waited approximately
15 minutes for them to cool off
and put all of the debris in the
bed of his truck that had a plastic
bed liner. About an hour later
a passerby notified him that his
truck was on fire.
All Fireworks Are Illegal in
Massachusetts The possession
and use of all fireworks by private
citizens is illegal in Massachusetts.
This includes Class C fireworks
which are sometimes falsely
called “safe and sane fireworks.
Class C fireworks include sparklers,
party poppers, snappers,
firecrackers, spinners, cherry
bombs and more. Sparklers burn
at 1800ºF. It is illegal to transport
fireworks into Massachusetts,
even if they were purchased legally
elsewhere. Illegal fireworks
can be confiscated on the spot.
Over the 2015 Fourth of July
weekend, the Dennis Fire
Department in conjunction
with the Dennis Police Department
confiscated large
quantities of fireworks from
several locations within Dennis.
The estimated value of
all the confiscated fireworks
was between $7,000 - $8,000.
For more information on the
dangers of fireworks, go to the
Department of Fire Services
webpage Leave the Fireworks to
the Professionals.
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Rafael DeSousa • 508-939-1664