STRICTLY BUSINESS: FIREWORKS SEASON NEAR; USE CAUTION

As many as 25 new retail businesses will open in the area this weekend.

Fireworks wholesalers and retailers are preparing for the big fireworks season, which officially gets under way in Cape Girardeau and Jackson Sunday. Scott City retailers can join the crowd June 25.

The sales season ends in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City on July 4, but fireworks can still be sold outside city limits until July 10.

State law requires all fireworks stand operators to have a seasonal fireworks license and a Missouri retail sales-tax license. Seasonal state licenses can be obtained at the Division of Fire Safety, 1709 Industrial Drive, Jefferson City, Mo. 65109. State licenses are effective from June 20 to July 10.

Also necessary are county merchant licenses, which are effective from June 20 to July 10, and city merchant licenses if the business is inside city limits. These licenses expire July 4.

Cape Girardeau County licenses are available at the county collector's office in the Administrative Building, 1 Barton Square, in Jackson, or in the Cape Girardeau office in the Courthouse Annex, 44 N. Lorimier. A Jackson city license may be obtained at City Hall, 101 Court St. Cape Girardeau licenses are available at City Hall, 401 Independence. Scott City licenses may be obtained at Scott City City Hall.

Shooting times

Inspectors may be checking on all the fireworks stands to make sure they have the necessary licenses, said Diane Diebold, Cape Girardeau County collector.

Fireworks enthusiasts may shoot fireworks from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from June 20 through July 3 in Cape Girardeau. On July 4, the hours are extended from 8 a.m. to midnight.

In Jackson fireworks may be shot from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. through July 3, with 8 a.m. to midnight hours July 4.

In Scott City fireworks may be shot only from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. through July 3, with hours extended to 8 a.m. to midnight on July 4.

In addition to licenses, state, city and county regulations require safety guidelines to be followed when selling fireworks. They require that fireworks stands operate beyond certain distances from open flames, smoking, flammable materials and businesses that sell gasoline.

People who violate any fireworks codes are cited with a court summons and their fireworks impounded.

Violations include selling fireworks to anyone who is under 12 years old; discharging or selling fireworks within 100 feet of a gas station; smoking in fireworks stands; discharging or selling fireworks within 300 feet of a church, hospital or school building; discharging fireworks within 75 feet of a place that sells fireworks; and shooting fireworks at people or cars.

Sold in 40 states

Fireworks are sold in 40 of the 50 states, but in almost half the states consumer fireworks are very limited.

Each year thousands of people throughout the United States are injured by fireworks. Injuries were down in 1998 to the lowest number in a long while.

About 7,000 people were treated for fireworks injuries in 1998, down from more than 11,000 in 1995.

The period between 1993 and 1995 were hazardous ones for fireworks enthusiasts: During the three-year period, more than 20 deaths were reported, an average of 12,000 people required hospitalization treatment each year, and an average of 18,000 were treated by physicians.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety reported that the highest risk group for fireworks injuries are 13- to 15-year-old boys.

They aren't toys

"Fireworks are not toys for children to play with," said a National Safety Council spokesman.

Managers of emergency services at both Cape Girardeau hospitals -- Southeast Missouri Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center -- see fireworks injuries each year. Many of the injuries result from children or adults holding firecrackers when they go off. Parents are urged to keep watch over young children .

The bottle-rocket injury statistics are scary ones. Nationally, about 83 percent of all serious fireworks injuries are from bottle rockets, according to a survey conducted for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the U.S. Eye Injury Registry.

Bottle rockets travel at a high rate of speed with uncontrolled flight patterns. Statistics show that 70 percent of bottle-rocket injuries are to bystanders. Bills have been introduced in a number of states to ban use of bottle rockets, but few have passed.

Seemingly harmless sparklers can also be dangerous. Sparklers can reach temperatures of up to 1,800 degress and remain hot enough to cause burns even after they are extinguished.

Fireworks also have resulted in fires. Over the past couple of years a house and garage fire have been attributed to fireworks locally.

Safety suggestions

Eighty percent of injuries were to people under 19 years of age, with 77 percent of the injured being males. Seventy-one percent of the injured were bystanders. Fifty-seven percent of injuries were on one day, July 4.

Following are some safety recommendations by the National Safety Council:

-- Read and follow instructions printed on the package before discharging any fireworks.

-- Purchase fireworks from a reliable dealer.

-- Don't purchase fireworks unless the name and address of the company is printed on the package.

-- Don't try to relight fireworks that fail to discharge.

-- Avoid fireworks that look like they have been wet and then dried.

-- Avoid any explosive with a loose fuse.

-- Don't stand directly over fireworks, especially projectiles, when igniting the fuse.

-- Don't hold fireworks in your hands when igniting the wicks.

-- Step away from fireworks quickly after igniting the fuse.

-- Never shoot fireworks at someone or at stationary or moving objects.

-- Stay clear of buildings and vehicles when discharging fireworks.

-- Don't carry fireworks in your pocket.

-- Always have water handy.

-- Have an adult present.