ORLANDO, Fla. — As families across Central Florida celebrate the Fourth of July and America’s 250th birthday, fire officials are reminding residents that while fireworks are a holiday tradition, safety should be just as much a part of the celebration.
For Orange County resident Lissette Osorio, spending the holiday with family is something they look forward to every year.
“We are going to get together, we’re going to barbecue together, we’re going to play in the water together. We’re doing some light fireworks this year. Ground fireworks. Nothing that goes up,” Osorio said.
As much as they enjoy fireworks, they also know how quickly things can go wrong.
A few years ago, one firework landed dangerously close to their home.
What started as a fun celebration quickly turned into a scary moment. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
“We lit it. We backed away and unbeknownst to us, it was a little bit tilted. So it tilted forward. So instead of the firework obviously going up, it went into the garage,” Osorio said.
It’s the kind of close call fire officials across Central Florida hope families can avoid this holiday weekend.
“Just last year we had approximately 20 response calls that were related to fireworks directly,” said Christina Diaz, assistant chief and fire marshal with the Seminole County Fire Department.
Diaz says every Fourth of July, crews respond to house fires and other emergencies caused by fireworks.
With thousands of people expected to celebrate this weekend, firefighters will be ready, but they’re asking everyone to do their part to stay safe.
“As a first responder, as the fire marshal, we get to witness the aftermath of incidents that occurred due to fireworks. And so through that, we want to ensure that we can try to mitigate and limit the amount of incidents that occur,” Diaz said.
Fire officials say a few simple steps can make a big difference. They recommend keeping a water hose or bucket of water nearby, soaking used fireworks before throwing them away, never lighting fireworks near dry grass or anything flammable, and never mixing fireworks with alcohol. They say those simple precautions can help keep holiday celebrations safe while preventing unnecessary injuries and fires.