BSO encourages fireworks safety for the holiday

DAVIE, Fla. (WSVN) -- With a little more than a week left before the Fourth of July, The Broward Sheriff's Office is urging everyone to use safety precautions when operating fireworks.

BSO held a demonstration Tuesday morning on how dangerous fireworks can be, especially an illegal M100. "Someone in a house or warehouse takes certain types of powder, puts it in a cardboard tube and puts a short fuse on it and sells it, they're not legally made," said BSO Bomb Squad Detective Stephen Kopp. "They can do extreme damage or cause death. It can take a hand off."

Last year in Florida, at least one child was injured from an M100 and a man received serious burns to his face. Mike Jachles of Broward Fire Rescue added, "In 2009, there was a Cooper City man who was killed detonating an illegal mortar in his backyard."

Any firework that goes airborne is considered illegal in Florida, so stick with the sparklers.

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