ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - Buying fireworks for Fourth of July celebrations is a tradition for many families, but fireworks can be dangerous if handled improperly.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 10,500 people visited an emergency room in 2014 for fireworks-related injuries. Thirty-five percent of those people were children younger than 15-years-old.
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"It can be dangerous if they're not being supervised correctly by parents, especially for children," Roanoke City's Deputy Fire Marshal, Ronnie Campbell explained.
He said anyone observing fireworks should stay at least 25 feet away from where they are lit. And when the show is over, Campbell said to wait five minutes, then soak the boxes in a bucket of water.
Campbell also said to keep an extra eye on the kids and make sure only adults light the fireworks.
In Virginia, fireworks that move across the ground or go up in the air and explore are illegal.