It's that time of year again. The 4th of July is in just a few days and many people all over the country are looking forward to the holiday, especially the fireworks displays. But, sometimes people forget they're actually playing with fire and officials want everyone to stay safe this holiday.

The National Safety Council of Omaha and the Omaha Fire Department offer the following advice:

· In 2006, fireworks caused an estimated 32,600 reported fires, including 1,700 total structure fires, 600 vehicle fires, and 30,300 outside and other fires. These fires resulted in an estimated six civilian deaths, 70 civilian injuries and $34 million in direct property damage.

· In 2007, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 9,800 people for fireworks related injuries; 56 percent of 2007 emergency room fireworks-related injuries were to the extremities and 36 percent were to the head.

· The risk of fireworks injury was two-and-a-half times as high for children ages 5-9 or 10-14 as for the general population.

· On Independence Day in a typical year, more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day, and fireworks account for half of those fires.

For more information on firework safety click on the links below.

http://www.safenebraska.org/news/documents/fireworkssafety.pdf
http://www.safenebraska.org/news/