Jackson fire shows danger of fireworks

Imagine enjoying a vacation with your family, a trip built around enjoying sports and time with family.

And then you get a phone call. Your house has been severely damaged by a fire.

Upon returning home, you find it wasn't an overloaded extension cord or a stove burner left on or anything you could have controlled.

It was children using bottle rockets in a residential neighborhood. That's what made your home almost a total loss.

That's exactly what happened to the Trowbridge family, called away from a Kansas City vacation last week to find what was left of their home in Jackson.

Trowbridge is a Jackson firefighter.

"I am not a fan of bottle rockets and never had been," he said wryly.

Bottle rockets are illegal in Cape Girardeau. Last May, the city council enacted a slew of fireworks regulations. Perhaps it's time for Jackson to consider banning the sale and use of the cheap-but-destructive devices there as well.

Bottle rockets aren't the only problem. Similar devices -- only larger -- are for sale in both cities. And any firework can be dangerous, particularly when children are using them unsupervised, as seems to be the case in the recent Jackson incident.

The legal use of fireworks ended in both cities at midnight Friday, the official end of the Fourth of July holiday. The streets should be quiet now. But because the holiday fell at the beginning of a three-day weekend, there's a good likelihood area residents will be hearing and seeing fireworks throughout the weekend.

It's a good time to consider what will make for a safer holiday next year for all.