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Firework Safety: Fire Departments Urge Caution

By: Matt Bush // June 23, 2011
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Montgomery County Fire Chief Richard Bowers speaks behind a collection of illegal fireworks.
Matt Bush
Montgomery County Fire Chief Richard Bowers speaks behind a collection of illegal fireworks.

Montgomery County Fire Chief Richard Bowers says they see this nearly every Fourth of July, except replace the fruit with human body parts, like hands or feet.

"Fireworks are dangerous, and very unpredictable. Especially in the hands of minors and amateurs," he says.

The legality of fireworks differs in just about every jurisdiction in the D.C. region, but they are illegal in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland, and in the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia. NBC Washington has a list of legal and illegal fireworks throughout the region.

**Using a watermelon, a simulation shows the dangers of fireworks:**

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