Happy Independence Day! (Tomorrow)

The celebration of our nations independence is just about upon us! One last day to scramble gathering food to grill, drinks to cool you and your friends, side dishes to whip up, and decorate with anything and everything you can find that is red, white and blue. It's a day to remember where we came from as a nation, reflect on how we have progressed (or regressed, depending on your viewpoint) and show our pride as Americans.
Unfortunately, as with most holidays, it is a day to drink excessively, blast music, be rowdy and scorch/blow up the pavement in front of our houses, (I don't know about you, but I've heard fireworks on Christmas day in the past.) This seem to be a perfect concoction for real, painful, life-altering disaster. As most of you know, I like to focus on safety and preparedness, but today, I want to loosen the reins (just a little) and talk about common sense. But before I do, just one more thing: THIS IS IN NO WAY INTENDED TO BE A COMPLETE LIST OF SAFETY REGULATIONS! USE COMMON SENSE AND CONTACT EMERGENCY PROFESSIONALS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!  Duh!

Prepare to light fireworks:
Keep a large bucket 3/4 of the way full of water to put spent fireworks into so they don't smolder and catch your lawn or someone's car on fire.
Have an oven mit handy or tongs (or something similar to protect your hands from the heat), or metal shovel to pick up the still hot fireworks to quench in the bucket of water.
I'd keep my garden hose hooked up with a sprayer attachment just in case too.
You know what else I'd have on me incase of an accident? A paracord bracelet! They always come in handy!

Lighting the fireworks:
Use a barbecue lighter to light the fireworks. It will put some distance between your fingers and the flame and from the firework.
Don't hold the dang thing unless it is a sparkler!
Don't be a show-off and stand two feet from it. Give yourself 10 or more feet between you and the firework.

These guidelines are assuming you are lighting fireworks that don't leave the ground. If you've made the decision to purchase fireworks that launch into the air, then be prepared to call the fire department if it lands on your roof and catches your house on fire. They're going to be extra busy this week and weekend, so keep that in mind also.

Got pets? Keep them safely shut inside with all doors and windows securely shut. Make sure their tags are current, with your current contact info on them and keep a current picture of them on your cell phone. If they are sensitive to the noise of the fireworks, keep the TV on, turn on a fan or a radio to help drown out the noise. Don't coddle a scared dog. It will tell them that their fears of the noise are well founded and only make the fear worse AND a scared dog may become aggressive. Just act like it doesn't bother you and they will start to become more relaxed as well. Putting your dog in a kennel or crate may not be the safest place either. A frightened dog may try to claw or chew his way out and cut his paws or gums and/or tear nails. My personal recommendation is to give him something to chew on that will last the night so he has something to distract himself.

Here is a link for fireworks displays in the Seattle, Washington area if you prefer to leave the controlled explosion (firework!) displays to the professionals.

Use common sense when celebrating. Don't drink and drive, don't pick up, hold or throw fireworks, be respectful of your neighbors and last but not least...
Be safe and be prepared out there friends!