Bill Weimer: Hi, I'm Bill Weimer with Phantom Fireworks talking to you today about consumer fireworks safety. Now we're going to talk about firecrackers. A firecracker typically about an inch-and-a-half in length is a small paper cylinder filled with pyrotechnic composition, tightly wrapped, when it ignites, it produces a bang or a report. All firecrackers contain a maximum of 50 milligrams of pyrotechnic composition.

The firecrackers come in individuals. They come in bricks which is 80 packs of 16 firecrackers each, half bricks, 40 packs of 16 firecrackers each, or strips and strips vary in length, starting from 100 firecrackers, all the way up to 16,000 firecrackers. This one is a 4,000 firecracker strip. The firecrackers can be lit individually. You can take a part of strip, pull out the individual firecrackers and light them. You can light them in a strip or a pack. You should unroll them, light them and back away. We recommend as with all ground based items, a distance from the launch or the ignition point to the spectators of 25 to 30 feet. You should never throw a firecracker at anyone or anything. Be careful when you light your firecrackers, although it's very unlikely, there is a remote possibility that the firecrackers would get something on the fire. So please keep an eagle eye out for any embers or flames. After your fireworks have expended their energy, the best practice is to simply take it and dunk it in a bucket of water to make sure it's cooled down and all the embers are out. Now that we've talked about the basic of firecrackers, let's move on to our first aerial item, Roman candles.