Firework safety a concern during Fourth of July holiday

They have names like Fiery Echo, Whistling Dixie and Towering Inferno, though they are not dangerous if used properly.

But every year, thousands of people do not follow the safety warnings and wind up in an emergency room. Last year, 11,000 people were injured by fireworks, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

“Detonating these devices is best left to the professionals,” said commission Chairwoman Ann Brown. “Even fireworks that seem innocent can cause serious injury.”

Lolita Ingle runs the TNT Fireworks tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot on Jake Alexander Boulevard. Her tent is considered a Class C seller, because none of the fireworks there pose a real threat, she said. She can’t sell anything that explodes — meaning anything like dynamite — according to N.C. law.

What Ingle does sell are canisters that sparkle, smoke, whistle and scream. Once you light the fuse, you have about 30 seconds before it ignites. That is plenty of time for an adult to put the canister on the ground and step back before the sparks or sirens start, she said. The law says that the fireworks device cannot move once it’s on the ground.

Also popular among children are wire sparklers that can be stuck in the ground or waved in the air. Brown says even those can be dangerous, simply because they burn at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mark Wilhelm, deputy chief of police with the Salisbury Police Department, said it’s a given that certain people will go across the state line to purchase fireworks that are illegal in North Carolina. If police catch those individuals, the fireworks will be seized and the person will be subject to a misdemeanor criminal charge and possibly a monetary fine.

Wilhelm said officials would probably speak with a child’s parents if they found a minor in possession of illegal fireworks, only because safety is their utmost concern.

Safety should be everyone’s concern this time of year, Ingle said.

The canisters at TNT Fireworks are made from several layers of thick cardboard and all the devices have long fuses, which makes lighting them easier and safer. Add to that a pack of “punks,”or sticks that allow you to stand further back when lighting the fuses, and the risk of injury plummets, Ingle said.

“Fireworks aren’t dangerous,”Ingle said. “It’s as safe as you lighting it and standing back.”

To ensure safety, Ingle and her husband, Ronnie, remind buyers not to lean over the canister while it is lighted and not to pick it up until it’s completely finished. Because they are cardboard, the canisters do not get hot, even the larger ones that can burn for several minutes.

Parents bear the responsibility, they said, to make sure their children don’t get hurt.

Ronnie Ingle encourages parents to use common sense and not let their children stand near the fireworks once they are lighted. Keeping water nearby is never a bad idea when using matches or fireworks.

Under N.C. law, buyers must be 16 years old. Ingle said she will ask for identification.

If a parent is with the child, the parent must be the one to hand over the money for the sale. It’s a policy she sticks to, no matter what, so don’t bother asking, she said.

This marks the Ingles’ eighth season selling fireworks and the fourth they’ve spent at Wal-Mart. Lolita Ingle said business will be mediocre until Tuesday or the Fourth, when they’ll do 80 percent of their business. By the end of the holiday, the tent will be empty.

Lolita Ingle said she has never heard of an injury from fireworks she sold — and she sells a lot of them. The most popular item is a family pack that sells for $14.95 and has several small items and a few towers. At the high end is a package with the largest towers and the most bang for the buck, Ingle said. It’s priced at $199.95. She has only four of those truck bed-sized boxes and she expects all of them to sell.

“It just depends on what people want to spend,” Ingle said. “There is something for everybody and no two things are alike.”

Not all the money from sales goes back to TNT Fireworks. As a fund-raiser for New Life Tabernacle Church, where Ronnie Ingle is pastor, 20 percent of the profits will come back to the church as aid for missionary work and to pay off the church’s debt, Lolita Ingles said. This year, they have $55,000 worth of inventory, meaning $11,000 for the church if they sell it all. Leftovers or returns are sent back for credit.

TNT Fireworks’ tent at Wal-Mart is open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. and is manned by security guards at night. On the busiest days, workers posing as customers will walk around the tent to keep an eye on the would-be thief.

Contact Michael Bostian at 704-797-4280 or mbostian@salisburypost.com .