FIREWORKS

Exploding fireworks killed a man in Germany and another in Austria on New Year’s Eve

While families across Bexar County are stocking up to light up the sky on New Year’s Eve with fireworks, authorities are amping up patrol and warning the community how quickly things can go wrong.

With New Year’s Eve coming up, there will be plenty of celebrations and fireworks. And while it might be a party for you, it’s not so much for your pets.

Whether you’re new in town for New Year’s Eve celebrations or not, the message stays the same in San Antonio -- using fireworks within city limits is illegal.

The National Park Service is hosting its Fourth of July fireworks display over the National Mall in Washington DC Sunday evening.

Fireworks were unintentionally detonated as they were being set up for an Independence Day show in Ocean City, Maryland, leaving employees of the fireworks company with minor injuries, authorities said Sunday.

One person - an employee of the fireworks company who was trying to set up for the town's Fourth of July celebration - has minor injuries.

The City of San Antonio Fourth of July Celebration makes its return to Woodlawn Lake Park this Sunday after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Braunfels' firework show will be bigger and better than before as the city celebrates 175 years since it's founding.

Happy Independence Day! Arguably the best day for fireworks is here.

Are you going to set off any fireworks for the Fourth of July this Sunday?

Home fireworks were a big hit during the 4th of July in the middle of the pandemic, which has lead to restocking issues a year later.

It’s almost time for Independence Day and that means the retail sale of fireworks has officially reopened in Texas.

The San Antonio Parks Foundation and the Parks and Recreation Department announced the return of the city’s July Fourth Celebration for 2021.

Many fireworks sold in the U.S. are imported from China.

After a yearlong hiatus due to the pandemic, the Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular is coming back to New Braunfels and city officials say this year will be bigger and better than ever.

He agreed to meet at the parking lot where his life was forever changed. Sexton said he didn’t know the majority of the people there and had never been to one of the group’s events. The other victim, Sexton, lost several fingers and may potentially have permanent eyesight damage. “There’s fingers on the floor and they said there was blood gushing out of his eye and he possibly lost his eyeball,” Gomez said. He said he had never been around fireworks because the laws in California are so strict regarding fireworks.

SAN ANTONIO – Gatlin Magee, now nearly 28-years-old, was 17 when he lost his finger in a fireworks accident. “It doesn’t really matter how safe you’re being,” Magee said. Fireworks -- they’re bombs. Magee said he feels sorry for the victims in a viral video of two young men injured in a weekend street drag racing fireworks disaster. “If you’re going to do it, at least be safe with it and don’t treat it like a toy.

SAN ANTONIO – A witness captured the moments of a street racing meetup on Sunday night in the Eisenhauer Market parking lot that turned into a chaotic scene after a fireworks disaster. “People doing donuts, hanging outside the window,” Pecina said. San Antonio police arrived at the scene just before 11 p.m. to find about 200 racers in the parking lot. They’ll line up, do a couple of donuts,” Pecina said. “Perrin Beitel and Nacogdoches are long, long roads that make it very, very attractive to this kind of situation,” said Clayton Perry, District 10 councilman.

San Antonio – San Antonio knows how to celebrate! Due to the coronavirus pandemic there was not an official fireworks display or celebration set up by the city like in years past, but that didn’t stop San Antonio from putting on a show. San Antonio ringing in 2021!! pic.twitter.com/o83MX50UX3 — Steve Spriester (@stevespriester) January 1, 2021I love you even more, San Antonio. pic.twitter.com/kv0Cqf3CbO — Puro San Antonio (@PuroSanAntonio) January 1, 2021

SAN ANTONIO – In spite of a pandemic, cold and wet weather in the forecast and new restrictions at firework stands, sales of fireworks in Bexar County are booming. According to Alamo Fireworks, the area’s leading fireworks distributors, customers are anxious to leave 2020 in their wake. ”People are ready to blow 2020 out of the water” said Chelsea Bode, of Alamo Fireworks. Even though the county and the city shows are cancelled, they still want to be able to celebrate.”Bode said that COVID-19 customer safety is paramount at firework stands. ”We’re doing everything we can to maintain social distancing and all the safety protocols,” Bode said.

Bexar County has banned certain types of fireworks ahead of New Year's Eve. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inboxThe ban classifies the offense as a Class C misdemeanor and is punishable up to a $2,000 fine. Ramos said the order goes hand in hand with the county's current burn ban brought on by the area's current drought conditions. In the ban proposal, Bexar County Fire Marshal Chris Lopez said the drought has resulted in "severe brush fire conditions throughout Bexar County." Firework vendors in the county have been supportive of the ban and in agreement with officials prohibiting the certain fireworks, Ramos said.

SAN ANTONIO – One San Antonio family is teaming up with local health officials to remind holiday revelers to be safe ahead of the kickoff to firework sales in Bexar County. On January 1, 2019, Aidan lit a bundle of 70 sparklers expecting a holiday display worthy of social media but instead, the sparklers exploded in his hand. Now, Aidan and his mother April Tejada, are joining with the University Health Trauma Center’s pediatric burn unit to warn families about the dangers to children when fireworks are misused. Officials with University Health said they are anticipating more families buying their own fireworks this year due to “many public fireworks displays [being] canceled” with the coronavirus pandemic. University Health officials suggested some safer options instead of fireworks including glow sticks, confetti poppers and colored streamers.

With Independence Day on the horizon, there will be plenty of celebrations and fireworks. While it might be a party for you, it’s not so much for your pets.

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – UPDATE: The City of New Braunfels has postponed its fireworks display over Landa Park due to Governor Greg Abbott’s new order in response to COVID-19. PREVIOUSLY:The annual Fourth of July Parade in New Braunfels this year has been canceled, but you’ll still be able to enjoy the city’s annual fireworks spectacular. “We are pleased to still be able to provide the fireworks spectacular to give our citizens a beautiful and patriotic show while celebrating our country in a safe manner. Anyone found to have fireworks in city limits may be issued a citation and have their fireworks confiscated. For more information on the fireworks display or regulations, click here.

The skies over Steamboat Springs, Colorado, erupted in red as the world's largest firework launched Saturday night at the city's annual winter carnival. The firework shell weighed almost 2,800 pounds, about the weight of a Toyota Corolla, and was 62 inches -- a little more than five feet -- in diameter. A team at Steamboat Fireworks launched the shell from a 26-foot steel tube buried in Emerald Mountain, which overlooks the festival. Explosives propelled the shell out of the tube at 300 mph, and it rose nearly a mile in the air before exploding. The former world record for the largest firework was set in the United Arab Emirates in 2018 with a 2,397-pound shell.

SAPD: Reported shots fired at Ingram Park Mall were actually fireworksPublished: January 1, 2020, 5:07 pmSan Antonio police are searching for two teenagers who set off fireworks inside Ingram Park Mall, leading to panic for shoppers who thought it was a shooting.

It wasn’t New Year’s Eve, but one Central Texas town had quite the fireworks display. A fireworks stand in Georgetown, north of Austin, caught fire on Monday, shooting fireworks through flames and smoke. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office shared footage of the chaos on Twitter just before 3 p.m. Where to party in San Antonio for New Year’s Eve, including family-friendly eventsNo one was injured in the fire, according to WCSO. Some Twitter users compared the incident to a premature New Year’s Eve display, while others related it to the Snakes and Sparklers scene from “Joe Dirt.”

Central Texas fireworks stand catches firePublished: December 24, 2019, 1:35 pmFirework stand off of CR 972 in Georgetown caught on fire. No one was hurt.

Fireworks exploding on the Fourth of July can have unintended consequences for some war veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). WLNS-TV's Christa Lamendola reports from Lansing, Michigan.