Firework safety reminders ahead of New Year’s Day

With Christmas now in the rearview mirror, the New Year’s holiday is just a few days away.

News 25 caught up with some officials for details on how to stay safe if you plan to use fireworks during the holiday season.

“There’s no ordinance against firing fireworks in the county, but you want to make sure that you keep them out of the woods,” said Fire Chief Pat Sullivan of Harrison County. “You want to keep them out of the brush. You want to have them in an area that’s not going to catch on fire. Once the fireworks go off. People can go to the beach and fire the fireworks.”

Fireworks are a spectacle to see – especially to bring in the New Year – but it’s important to know where you actually can use fireworks safely.

In the city of Gulfport, fireworks are unlawful and sales of fireworks are restricted  outside of city limits.

As for Biloxi, fireworks can be sold ahead of Independence Day and New Year’s Day.

Citizens can light fireworks after 6 PM on New Year’s Eve up until the New Year’s.

Over in Jackson County, it’s illegal to pop fireworks except in Ocean Springs as long as its away from public property and parks.

One local resident who recently moved to the coast from Colorado says he is making sure to follow the law closely.

“So we’re gonna be down at long beach, the beach, we’ve going to fire pit and we have a bunch of family coming down. They’re all flying in today,” said Gary Arnold, a resident of Gulfport. “As a matter of fact, we’re just going to hang out all day go down there about noon we’re getting a bunch of firewood and just relax with our family and then in the evening we’re going to light off all these fireworks. We’re used to doing it in our backyard in Colorado, so not really a whole lot to look at but now we got the waterfront and all that. So, I’m looking forward to this.

Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan says how you dispose to used fireworks is also important. Dipping fuses in cool water is a good rule of thumb.

“If you fire fireworks wherever you fire them clean it up, clean your mess up,” said Fire Chief Sullivan. “Take the debris with you. we see this all the time is a lot of debris left after the fireworks have been fired and that’s not a safety thing. That’s just a good neighbor thing.”

Firework shops also have ordinances they must follow.

“New Year’s Eve and the day before so the 30th & 31st be the busy days and we usually tear down on the first. We had to go through, get a building permit, believe it or not, you know go through all the different departments, up at the courthouse or the municipal buildings,” said Wayne Lawler, owner of Lawler’s Fireworks. “We’ve got to get fireworks license we carry a couple million dollar worth of insurance on the property in case somebody gets hurt. Considerations inside there has to be about three inches between all the tables as a firebreak. So if something does, you know inadvertently happen, we can hopefully mitigate the nightmare that’s about to take place.”

Lawler says the company reminds citizens of safety precautions before use so everyone can have fun in a safe environment.

“Be mindful of where you’re at mindful of were you are aiming the firecrackers and light the fuse and run like hell,” said Lawler.

“All of these things are well known common sense,” said Fire Chief Sullivan. “But we tend to forget in the fun of it and the excitement of it”