South Carolina man dies after lighting firework on top of his head

Hi, I'm Drew Hannigan with the Catoosa County Fire Department. And we're here at our brand new training center on Mac Smith Road to show you how to safely set off fireworks. This Fourth of July holiday, we want to thank Dixieland fireworks for their generous donation for helping make this video possible. First thing you're gonna wanna do is make sure you have *** flat level surface to shoot your fireworks off from grass is ok, as long as it's level and as long as you wet it down with *** water hose before you start, so nothing catches on fire. You definitely wanna make sure you have some blocks, something noncombustible to stabilize your fireworks as you're shooting them off. Uh, you're also gonna want to have *** water hose, uh, or *** bucket of water if you don't have *** hose to douse the fireworks when you're done. And just in case any emergencies come up, you want some safety glasses for anybody setting off the fireworks and before you start clear everybody out of the area who's not actively setting off fireworks and any Children should not be involved. Anybody under 18 should not be involved in lighting the fireworks before you start protect yourself and those around you by making sure you read the instructions on the box and follow them closely and always use good common sense. So we're about to let off an artillery shell. First thing we're gonna do is stabilize the tube. So it doesn't fall over firefighter gas. Here is going to drop the shell into the tube and he's going to light it with this long stem grill lighter. When he does, we're not going to lean over it and look down into the tube. We're just going to stand up. We're going to back away 20 ft and we're going to wait for it to go off. If it does not go off within two minutes, do not try to relight it. It's for the gas. This is *** bottle rocket. You can shoot them out of *** bottle or one of these tubes that we picked up from the fireworks store. We're going to pack the tube or the bottle with dirt or sand, put the bottle rocket in, make sure it's loose enough that it will launch out. When you light it. You want to stabilize. You do not want to hold these with your hand. If they go off in your hand, they can cause serious bodily injury. 500 gas. All right. This is the last one we're gonna shoot off for you guys. Uh, the warning label on this one says that it might tip over once you light it. So we're gonna definitely make sure to wedge this one in with our blocks. Always remember only buy your fireworks from *** licensed store stand or tent and don't ever point these at anybody. You ready, you ready after you're done shooting off your fireworks. Let them stand for 20 minutes, douse them in water and let them cool off for two minutes after your fireworks have cooled off for two minutes. Drain them out. Storm in *** plastic bag and dispose of this in an outdoor covered garbage can before you plan your fireworks show. Make sure you're in compliance with your local noise ordinances. But from the Catoosa County Fire Department, we hope you have *** safe and enjoyable Independence Day if something goes wrong, give us *** call.