Williamson County fire marshal urges firework safety as sales are expected to go up for the Fourth of July

ROUND ROCK, Texas - With many city fireworks shows canceled this year, local fire marshals are expecting to see an increase in people purchasing their own.

Before you shoot them off for the holidays, they want you to be mindful of where you plan to do so.

“I think people are going to buy from local stands I really do,” said Wesley Pryor, who recently opened up his fireworks stand in the outskirts of Round Rock. He feels this year for the 4th of July holiday, fireworks won’t be the only thing going up. 

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“Everyone has been cooped up in the house, everyone is really wanting to get out and have a good time and set off some fireworks, we’ve been trapped at home,” said Pryor.

It’s this potential increase in sales that has the Williamson County fire marshal wanting people to be safe. “That’s part of the reason some of us are being proactive this year,” said county fire marshal Hank Jones.

On Wednesday Jones’s crews spent the day inspecting firework stands as they want to avoid an incident that happened near Georgetown last year where a firework stand caught fire. “Upon investigation, it was determined materials were stored to close to the building and a discarded smoking material ignited the fire,” he said.

Jones isn’t just urging safety for the stands but the people who buy from them as well. “Know what your pointing at the area where you’re pointing your fireworks in. Don’t point fireworks at people, pets or places that can start a grass fire. Make sure you have water available to extinguish your fireworks,” he said.

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While in most cities shooting fireworks is illegal, incidents still happen. Over New Year's, there was an apartment in Austin that caught fire due to fireworks. “Obviously the population the potential for fire is greater in an area condensed with Homes and vehicles And you can have accidental misfires beneath them,” said Jones on the dangers of lighting fireworks within a city.

Williamson County created a map on where you can and can’t shoot off fireworks. The places marked are where fireworks are restricted.

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Jones recommends people get familiar with this map before lighting some off for the holiday or face a hefty fine or worse.