Sven's Summertime Safety: Fourth of July fireworks Published June 29, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Dave Watnemoe 319th Air Base Wing Ground Safety GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- First and foremost fireworks are for adults; sorry kids, you get sparklers. Before you send little Johnny out with a fistful of sparklers to write his name, torment the dog or chase his sister -- remember to always keep a watchful eye when allowing children to handle sparklers. The old metal ones get very hot and are an impaling hazard, while the new 36" sparklers present a hot bat hazard normally swung around eye level of their siblings. Some other items aimed toward children can also be very dangerous. First there are "snakes," which encourage adults to allow their kids to light matches in order to make little ash snakes. Then there are the ever popular "snaps," which when thrown on the ground or your brother's back, make a snap noise and a nice burn mark on the t-shirt. Don't forget the various types of army tanks, spinners, flying butterflies and chickens laying eggs amongst a fountain of sparks. My child's favorites are the parachutes. They work especially well on a windy day forcing them to chase the parachute into the woods, over the fence or even into the lake. The thing to remember is that these are class 1.4 G explosives (safety geek speak for really bad stuff) and can severely injure little hands. Don't allow your children to play with them unsupervised. The largest groups of people we need to watch out for are the Fourth of July party people. The ones who have saved money all year to buy enough fireworks to defend small countries, then pound 6, 7, 9 or 13 beers prior to putting on their fireworks display. With their judgment severely impaired and courage dangerously increased, they set out to top last year's near death experience. Everyone knows their battle cry: "Dude hold my beer -- check this out!" So if you know your crazy uncle is going to be lighting off the fireworks this year at the family get together, you may want to monitor his partying prior to letting your children sit in the front row. And remember, no fireworks are allowed on base that fly or go "bang." If in doubt, leave the fireworks to the professionals. It's kind of like taking your wife out for dinner on your anniversary -- everyone's happy and there's no clean up.