WEST JORDAN — The West Jordan Fire Department is rolling out a new fire prevention tool people can take home for free.
Starting today, 700 five-gallon buckets will be given out free of charge at fireworks stands across the city.
“What we are asking is one per household,” said Deputy Fire Chief Clint Paxton. “No purchase is necessary. So if you do the math, that’s about 70 buckets per firework stands. They’ll probably go fast.”
The buckets contributed to a 90 percent reduction in firework-related fires in a Colorado city. And now, West Jordan Fire is giving it a try.
Firefighters said to fill up the bucket halfway with water. Then, soak your fireworks in it overnight.
“Just as simple as, like, setting them inside, pushing them down a little bit so they’re waterlogged and then just leave them overnight so they’re nice and soaked and cooled off,” said the department’s public education specialist, Becky Steeneck.
She and Paxton said every year, they see a lot of garbage cans that catch on fire because the fireworks weren’t completely out.
“What they don’t see is the embers that are deep, like embedded deep inside, that aren’t giving off any smoke or any heat or anything like that,” Paxton said.
He said the heat builds up slowly over time inside the trash bin, leading to a fire that can spread to people’s homes.
Steeneck suggests using your own bucket at home to properly soak fireworks. She’s seen that it can make a huge difference.
“You might not notice that your fireworks are starting fires in other places in your neighborhood or around the city, so something just as simple as soaking them in a bucket or leaving them out overnight just so they’re completely cooled off, this is a really easy thing to do that you can do to have a big impact on our community,” she said.
Cities across Utah, including West Jordan, have their own fireworks restrictions. Restricted areas include setting them off within 200 feet of canals or creeks, west of Bacchus Highway, city parks and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints property.
Each bucket has a QR code on the sticker. It’ll take you to a map showing where you can and cannot set them off.
“What we recommend is you have at least 30 feet from any structure,” Paxton said. “When you’re lighting those fireworks off, make sure that they are legal. Fireworks no higher than 150 feet in the air. Make sure they’re the right classification to light them off and that they do it safely. Also, you have to be 16 years or older to light off aerial fireworks.”
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