Fireworks Emergencies

As we approach the fourth of July the potential for fireworks emergencies is greatly increased. The purpose of this weeks little thought for a training session revolves around this potential emergency.

Fireworks are some form of explosive device. They range from home made to professional commercial grade devices. Whether they are listed as Class C (smaller "consumer home devices") or Class B (Commercial grade for shows) they all raise a potential danger to responders. Lets explore some thoughts that you should share with your troops.

* In many state fireworks are illegal, so the proper handling and marking and or labeling has been driven underground. If you respond to a vehicle fire this week or a truck fire, there may not be any labels if the person is transporting illegal fireworks. Be a little more vigilant at this time of year.

* Many years ago in the State of Rhode island a van loaded with fireworks was ignited on interstate Route 95 and caused a major traffic problem in the northeast stretch of this highway. It was ignited by a "discarded" cigarette flicked out by the driver. Projectiles were flying out of the vehicle forcing responders into a defensive mode.

* These materials are also being stored in residential neighborhoods without any forethought of what would happen if there was an accidental fire. If these materials are in a large enough quantity and packed tightly the risk gets a little greater obviously.

* A fire that occurs in these stored boxed materials will smolder and smoke for hours causing problems and mandating only hydraulic overhaul. Using hose streams only and not getting personnel near the material. I will make an assumption that Class A Foam would help the situation and would be a technique that I might try but that certainly is not an absolute solution. Plan on lots of time and lots of water. Do not send personnel in and around even after knockdown. Many of these more powerful devices use magnesium and aluminum chips and dust so water may actually initially accelerate the fire or it certainly could.

* The use of fireworks can also start fires either in dry brush or by rockets that land on rooftops often remote from where the rocket was launched. Sometimes these will come down and smolder. There have been certainly brush fires caused and vehicle fires by discarded fireworks.

* Attempts to throw fireworks out of a moving vehicle have been blown back in the window causing vehicle fires.

* If your department does a "standby" for fireworks shows, communicate closely with the company so that your personnel know exactly what is expected of them if something should fail. Consider the unexpected such as someone injured during the ignition of the finale. Do you approach the tubes or do you not? Are master streams warranted, encouraged or discouraged? Can streams knock over a vertical rack and make it horizontal? What will you do when one comes back down near the launch area? Plan and talk it out and relay it to the companies standing by. Too often companies are assigned to these standby details with little or no information.

* From the EMS standpoint consider and review the trauma issues of injured hands, missing digits, avulsions and amputations of devices that explode. Review severe burn injuries from sparklers and small devices and the likes. Review all procedures for penetrating injuries and shrapnel. In many EMS services unless you are in an urban area you may not see much more than automobile accident trauma, and a quick review this week might be in order.

* From the emergency planning standpoint, consider how you might handle a device that comes down into a crowd and causes panic and possibly an MCI very quickly. Are you prepared for that and what is your contingency plan? The areas around the shows are generally packed with civilian spectators and traffic is usually affected as well preventing units from getting in or out of the affected area.

* And certainly it is very difficult for me to write and consider this, but I think we should be concerned about large gatherings of folks celebrating freedom this year in the wake of September 11. Our vigilance to subversive activities should be increased and our planning must go one step beyond it ever has in any previous year. Considerations and planning for WMD and bio threats must be raised and put on the table.

* There are a bunch more items to be considered such as permitting and placement of shows, laws governing transport, etc. etc. The real issue is that if you have a small town celebration in your community this year plan for the unexpected and this week's drill should focus on that.

Thanks and have a safe fourth!