Fireworks how-to: safety tips for your Canada Day display

If you plan to set off fireworks for Canada Day, be sure to take some safety precautions to protect yourself and your audience.

Here are some tips from the GuelphPolice, Natural Resources Canada and the Canada Safety Council.

How to buy fireworks

• Buy fireworks from reliable sources that sell products that meet safety standards.
• Read and follow the directions onthe label.
• Keep fireworks and sparklers away from children.
• Keep fireworks in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight.
• Don't improvise your own fireworks.
• Don't smoke around fireworks.

Setting up

• Choose a wide, clear site without obstacles to set up your fireworks display. Double-check the minimum distances for spectators mentioned on the label of the fireworks.
• Plan the order of the fireworks before you start lighting them.
• Fireworksshould be partially buried, at least half thelengthof the firework, in a bucket, box orwheelbarrowof sand or earth. If you don't have any of these, plantthe fireworks firmly in the ground before you light them. Make sure to set them at a 10-degree angle, and point them away from people.
• Make sure to have lots of water on hand. You can put used fireworks in a pail of water.

Lighting the fireworks

• Don't light fireworks in windy weather. If there is a light wind, make sure the wind is blowing away from any spectators.
• Wear eye protection and gloves.
• Don't place any part of your body over the firework.
• Keep your hair and clothes away from fire sources.
• Always the light the fuse of the firework at its tip.
• Don't try to light a firework in your hand and don't hold a lit firework in your hand unless the instructions on the firework say theproduct was designed to be hand-held.

After the display

• Always make sure you have water on hand, buckets and a garden hose, to soak fireworks that might continue to smolder after they've fired.
• Wait at least 30 minutes before you approach a firework that didn't go off. Don't try to relight a firework that didn't go off.
• Never try to fix a firework that is defective.
• Sparklers should be put in a bucket of sand to cool down because they can stay hot for a long time.