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Wichita Fire Officials: 'Shoot Fireworks Where You Buy Them'

KOMUnews
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flickr Creative Commons

Fireworks tents are up, and starting Tuesday, customers can legally buy fireworks and set them off during the next week.

This Fourth of July tradition also comes with a safety reminder from the Wichita Fire Department.

The City of Wichita has a stricter fireworks law than neighboring cities in Sedgwick County.

Fire Chief Stuart Bevis says only items that are tested by the fire department and don’t shoot sparks more than six feet in any direction are legal in Wichita.

"We want people to be safe, and we’d like them to be legal as well," Bevis says. "Only shoot fireworks that [you] buy inside the city of Wichita to make sure that they are legal in the city of Wichita."

Fireworks are allowed to be discharged until midnight each day through July 5. Bevis says law enforcement can issue fines and confiscate fireworks if violators are caught.

He says the number of fireworks-related injuries went up last year, but generally has declined since 2012.

WFD Fourth of July Safety Tips:

  • Keep fireworks away from grassy areas or structures
  • Do not light fireworks if it’s windy
  • Consider attending a fireworks show in the area
  • Use only fireworks sold in Wichita (others may be illegal)
  • Place a garden hose, fire extinguisher, and/or water bucket nearby to douse fireworks
  • Closely supervise children using fireworks
  • Use fireworks as they are designed to be used
  • Safely dispose of used fireworks in a metal container, do not place in trash until safe

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Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar

 
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

 

Deborah joined the news team at KMUW in September 2014 as a news reporter. She spent more than a dozen years working in news at both public and commercial radio and television stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan. Before relocating to Wichita in 2013, Deborah taught news and broadcasting classes at Tarrant County College in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.