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By City4th of July Celebration
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4th of July CelebrationTo Be Rescheduled
2006-06-28
Article Written by: Community Member
PORT ORANGE FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION TO BE RESCHEDULED
(Port Orange, Fla.) The Fourth of July Celebration to be held in the City Center Complex will be put on hold pending more favorable weather conditions. The drought conditions have created a situation where a little bit of rain won't dispel concerns for brushfires. With that in mind, City officials have made a decision to put safety first. "We're working on rescheduling the entertainment as well," says Assistant Parks and Recreation Director, Susan Lovallo. "We want the acts to perform in front of our typical large audiences. Because of safety concerns and having to postpone the fireworks display, it makes sense to postpone the entertainment as well. We'll do a much better show when we feel confident safety isn't an issue."
"Our [Port Orange ] burn ban goes a step further than some and specifically addresses fireworks, " states Fire Marshal Chris Weir. "It only makes sense to add that verbiage in. In a typical year, fireworks cause more fires in the US than all other causes of fires combined." Residents in this area will have to check with their municipality to see if fireworks are directly addressed in their community's burn ban.
Regardless of the inclusion of the verbiage parents and caregivers should know that in 2004, emergency departments treated 9,600 people for fireworks-related injuries in the United States, and 8 people died from their injuries. During the month around Independence Day. *
* 40% of these injuries occurred among children ages 14 years and younger;
* males sustained about 76% of all injuries;
* hands (33%), eyes (21%), and the head, face, and ear (21%) were the parts
of the body most frequently injured;
* more than half of the injuries involved burns (62%); and
* injuries were most commonly associated with fire-crackers (17%), sparklers
(17%) and rockets (14%).
Under Chapter 791, the State has an approved list of what is constituted as a firework and what is considered a sparkler. Sparklers are permitted. Florida Statute does allow for individual municipalities to even tighten restrictions more with their own ordinances.
City Manager Ken Parker states, "Hopefully by postponing our festivities, our community understands how dedicated we are to preventing brush fires and keeping the community safe. When conditions permit, we'll be sure to put on the show they are accustom to enjoying every year."
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* Source: Greene MA, Joholske J. 2004 Fireworks annual report: Fireworks-related deaths, emergency department treated injuries, and enforcement activities during 2004. Washington (DC): U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; 2005 [cited 12 May 2006].
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