The Lake Havasu City Fire Department wishes everyone a happy and safe 4th of July holiday weekend. Please remember to use fireworks carefully and safely to celebrate our Independence Day. To lower your risk of injury and reduce the risk of unwanted fires, we encourage you to attend public displays and leave the fireworks to trained professionals.

If you’re planning to celebrate with fireworks, it’s important to understand the distinction between legal and illegal fireworks, as it greatly impacts the potential for injury or accidental fires.

Legal fireworks include ground-based devices that only emit showers, flames, sparks, or smoke. You can purchase these legal “consumer permissible fireworks” in many locations throughout our City from June 24 through July 6 and December 24 through January 3 each year.

Illegal fireworks are those that are propelled through the air or explode. Those are always prohibited, even if purchased legally outside our City. Some examples of prohibited aerial fireworks are mortars, “cakes”, sky lanterns, bottle rockets, firecrackers, Roman candles, M80s, cherry bombs, and any device for professional use.

If you choose to use or supervise your children’s use of legal fireworks, here are a few important safety tips:

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks, including sparklers. Sparklers burn at about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit—hot enough to melt some metals.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire.
• Light fireworks one at a time, then move away quickly.
• Never try to relight or handle malfunctioning fireworks. Soak them with water and throw them away.
• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Move to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.
• Never point or throw fireworks (including sparklers) at anyone.
• Douse spent devices with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding the device to prevent a trash fire.
• Make sure you are only using legal fireworks in your area, and only purchase those labeled for consumer (not professional) use.

• For more fireworks safety tips, visit www.cpsc.gov/fireworks.

Please call 911 to report an emergency. If you have any questions regarding using, selling, or possessing fireworks, please get in touch with the Lake Havasu City Fire Marshal’s office at (928) 855-1141 or visit www.lhcaz.gov/fireworks.