Make sure to use caution -- and only legal fireworks -- for your New Year's celebration
by Kim Sloan
Dec 31, 2012 | 1500 views | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Sparklers like the ones pictured above, can be found in many local stores. (Brittany Hannah/The Polk Fishwrap)
Sparklers like the ones pictured above, can be found in many local stores. (Brittany Hannah/The Polk Fishwrap)
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As the new year begins, some people like to make noise.

And if the noise involves fireworks, you can end up paying a hefty fine or going to jail.

Most fireworks, with the exception of certain kinds of sparklers, are illegal in Georgia.

According to Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, what you can use for personal celebrations is essentially limited to:

“Wire or wood sparklers of 100 grams or less of mixture per item; other sparkling items which are non-explosive and nonaerial and contain 75 grams or less of chemical compound per tube or a total of 200 grams or less for multiple tubes; snake and glow worms; trick noise makers which include paper streamers, party poppers, string poppers, snappers, and drop pops each consisting of 0.25 grains or less of explosive mixture.”

Anyone caught with illegal fireworks can face a fine of as much as $1,000 and as long as a year in jail.

Hudgens said sparklers should only by used with adult supervision.

“According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2010, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 8,600 people for fireworks-related injuries,” Hudgens said. “The risk of fireworks injury was highest for children ages 5-14.”

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