Even though this year’s July 4 holiday celebrations might be a muted because of COVID-19 restrictions, area and state officials are urging North Carolina residents to be careful on heavily traveled highways, and to be cautious if using fireworks and similar devices at home.
John Shelton, Surry County EMS director, said because so many area celebrations and public fireworks displays have been canceled or sharply curtailed, he’s concerned more people may being doing fireworks at home this year — including many who may never before have set off fireworks.
“Absolutely follow the instructions of whatever fireworks you are using,” he cautioned. “Don’t take any chances … individuals should not try to combine fireworks with others they aren’t meant to be used with.”
Shelton said his department hasn’t received calls of major fireworks-related injuries in recent years, but they do get calls most years for more minor injuries.
“We may have some finger injuries, or hand injuries where they’ve held onto the device too long, or maybe some eye injuries.” Those, he said, are usually caused by debris from fireworks set off too close to people, or from sparklers held too close to the face.
“People should wear protective eye-wear, be sure you give yourself safe distances, don’t be carrying them (fireworks) in your hand when they’re lit. Usually, those kinds of things cause injuries.”
Some use PVC pipe to aim the fireworks upward instead of holding the item. For something lightweight like bottle rockets, a 20-ounce plastic bottle can be filled partway with sand or dirt to keep it steady for launching.
He said another danger is setting off fireworks too close to buildings — especially barns or other outbuildings which may contain hay or other easily flammable material.
Another danger unique to this year is simply being around crowds, with the potential of being exposed to COVID-19.
“We’re still dealing with COVID, we’re still having increases in positive cases,” he said Thursday, the day Surry County’s positive results hit 493. “People should practice safe distancing, wear the masks, try not to congregate, clean surfaces often, all of those are important in trying to curb the scale on the positive cases we’ve been getting.”
He encouraged area residents to take care on the highways, which are generally packed with holiday travelers this time of year. That caution to remain safe while traveling was echoed by N.C. Highway Patrol officials.
“As we celebrate our nation’s independence, motorists must remain vigilant in observing safe driving practices, especially with the increased traffic expected this holiday weekend,” said Col. Glenn M. McNeill Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol, in a statement released by his office.
“The key principles of following the speed limit, avoiding distractions and not driving impaired are rudimentary. Our mission is simple; combat collisions which may result in injury or death before they occur,” he said.
Toward that end, the highway patrol is participating in two enforcement campaigns across the state.
One, Booze It & Lose It Operation Fire Cracker, is a joint enforcement initiative sponsored by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. Law enforcement organizations from the state, county and local levels will partner together to enforce various violations to include excessive speeding, aggressive driving and driving impaired.
Another campaign entitled On the Road, On the Water; Don’t Drink and Drive will be conducted. Personnel from the Wildlife Resources Commission’s Law Enforcement Division will join troopers at various boat ramps to remove impaired motorists from both the roadways and waterways. Both campaigns will be conducted throughout the holiday time period.
To obtain up-to-date roadway conditions prior to leaving home, motorists can visit www.DriveNC.gov. Motorists can also assist in reducing collisions by reporting dangerous driver behavior to the SHP by dialing *HP (*47) from their mobile device.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com