Texas Pyrotechnic Association

Showing a broad commitment to better education the public, state fire service associations and the Texas Pyrotechnic Association (TPA) are working together to promote safety and education of fireworks. The organizations are combining efforts to make sure every Texas citizen can have a safe and happy holiday season this Fourth of July. On April 27,... 1999, State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas' Executive Director Helen Campbell, along with representatives from such agencies as the Texas Forest Service, the Rural Fire Advisory Council and the Commission on Fire Protection, met with the Texas Pyrotechnic Association to address fireworks safety in our state. The meeting was a successful start in identifying ways the service associations and the TPA can collectively broaden their safety education efforts. Hope for the success of this joint effort between industries that have traditionally had differing objectives for the fireworks seasons results from increased industry activity and educational efforts. While fireworks use has quadrupled over the past 20 years, firework-related injuries have dropped 44 percent (according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) and numbers of firework-related fires have stabilized or declined in recent years. Lower incident statistics can be credited to the improved quality of firework products, but incidents are still occurring as a result of misuse and abuse of the products. There is continuing evidence that people need more education with safety guidelines for using fireworks. The fire service associations and the TPA agreed the most effective way to reduce firework-related injuries and fires is to concentrate on raising safety awareness. The vast majority of firework-related injuries and fires occur due to improper use, ignoring safety guidelines or the use of illegal explosives. As a result of the meeting, the organizations involved agreed to design a safety and education campaign, involving updated public service announcements, flyers, printed bags, ...Read More