Firework Safety
With so many locations across Texas, the American Fireworks staff is frequently asked to appear on television. During the holidays, such as the 4th of July and New Years, Chester (our CEO) will often take time from his busy schedule to do interviews with a few local news broadcasters. Please enjoy the videos below of Chester speaking about safety and celebrating the holidays with family.
Celebrating with fireworks is an American tradition that is reminiscent of the days of our founding fathers. American Fireworks reminds everyone to enjoy this source of family entertainment responsibly and safely. American Fireworks encourages everyone to follow the safety rules below to help insure a wonderful fireworks celebration:
Never hold and/or light fireworks in your hand
Never place fireworks on any part of your or another person's body
Observe all local, state, and federal laws
Use only under adult supervision
Use in a clear, open area
Light one item at a time
Do not consume alcohol, or use illegal drugs of any kind, when using fireworks
Always read the warning labels and follow the directions on each firework
Never carry fireworks in pockets
Never point or throw fireworks at another person
Keep at a safe distance
Never light near flammable materials
Never experiment with homemade Just an fireworks
TYPES OF FIREWORKS
The American Pyrotechnics Association offers a comprehensive list of firework types and what each one should do. The following is an excerpt from their website. If you are interested in learning more, please visit the American Pyrotechnic Association's Firework Glossary.
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A spherical break of colored stars, similar to a peony, but with stars that leave a visible trail of sparks. |
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A shell containing several large stars that travel a short distance before breaking apart into smaller stars with a loud crackling sound, creating a crisscrossing grid-like effect. |
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Stars travel a longer-than-usual distance from the shell break before burning out, similar to peony shell but with fewer and larger stars, some shells are cylindrical rather than spherical to allow for larger stars. |
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Stars twinkle and flutter down. |
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Large inserts that propel themselves rapidly away from the shell burst, often looking like a fish swimming away. |
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A ground firework that expels stars and/or other garnitures into the sky; consists of a canister with the lift charge on the bottom with the effects placed on top, shot from mortar like a shell. Mines can project small reports, serpents, small shells, and stars. Mines are usually between 3 and 5 inches in diameter. |
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Large shell containing several smaller shells of various sizes and types. The initial burst scatters the shells across the sky before they explode. When a shell contains smaller shells of the same size and type, the effect is usually referred to as “Thousands”. |
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Rising comet (trunk) that bursts into six large trailing stars (fronds) and can also have small reports (coconuts). |
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Aerial shells that look like maple leafs, rings, butterflies, Saturn, hearts, bows, smiley faces, snails, and more. |
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The center sphere of stars in a spherical burst shell which contains an outer sphere of stars. |
An effect created by large, slow-burning stars within a shell that leave a trail of glittering sparks behind and make a loud sizzling noise.
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A long tube containing several large stars which fire intermittently at a regular interval. These are commonly arranged in fan shapes or crisscrossing shapes at a closer proximity to the audience. Some larger roman candles contain small shells (bombettes) rather than stars. |
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Shell containing a large quantity of flash powder rather than stars, producing a quick flash followed by a large report. Salutes are commonly used in large quantities during finales to create intense noise and brightness. They are often cylindrical in shape to allow for a larger payload of flash powder but ball shapes are common as well. |
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These utilize a number of colored lances (small flares) which all together form a pattern or word. They typically burn for one minute. |
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Shell containing a fast burning tailed or charcoal star that is burst very hard so that the stars travel in a straight and flat trajectory before burning out. This appears in the sky as a series of radial lines much like the legs of a spider. |
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A small, rotating device fired from candles, mines or shells which throws out sparks as it rotates eccentrically; it ascends and revolves at the same time. |
