Nassau County officials stress the dangers of fireworks by demonstrating how powerful they can be

Even though this year's fourth of July TD Bank "Celebrating America" Fireworks and Show at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre was said to be the largest show in the area of the season, County officials still worried that residents would try to put on their own shows.
County Executive Bruce Blakeman and county police held a news conference on June 29 to show people the dangers of using fireworks. Even small ones like sparklers can do some damage like causing first-, second-, and third-degree burns, according to police.
"You should not be doing your own fireworks celebration because each and every year, somebody does that and they get terribly burned, they lose a finger, they lose an eye," Blakeman said. "We don't want that to happen. Fireworks are illegal. They're illegal because they're dangerous and these fireworks should only be handled by trained professionals. "
According to NCPD Commissioner Pat Ryder, in 2020 police saw 1200 calls for fireworks. In 2021 they received 2500 calls and in 2022, 1887 calls. This year already they have received 366 calls for fireworks.
"We will arrest," Ryder said. "There is zero tolerance for it."

There have already been four arrests this year. Most recently Matthew Cano, 29, of Copiague was arrested for facilitating the sale of illegal fireworks that were being stored in an Old Bethpage home by Isaiah Carvalho, 62, who was also arrested.
Chief Fire Marshall Micheal Uttaro recalled an incident the previous year where a building
caught fire after someone threw illegal fireworks out in the trash.
A couple of demonstrations were performed in the field in Eisenhower Park where the fireworks show took place on Saturday. The first demonstration was a firework placed inside a watermelon, which exploded when activated. Another showed a mailbox exploding to prove the damage that could be done by even a small explosive firework.
The final demonstration featured a small batch of the fireworks that were obtained from the arrest in Old Bethpage.