As the 4th of July holiday approaches, Monmouth Fire Chief Casey Rexroat reminds of the dangers of fireworks:
“Fireworks are dangerous, they are illegal in Illinois, and you can get yourself in trouble or cause an injury if you are not careful using them. There have been times where we have had fires on the 4th of July when it has not even been that dry, you get the fireworks landing on somebody’s roof that aren’t completely burned out, they can start a fire pretty easily. The sparklers even, they are suppose to be safe for the kids to use, but they burn well over 1,200 degrees.”
Fireworks will be on display locally starting this Wednesday, July 3rd in Raritan, Oquawka, and Matherville, with Alexis, Monmouth, Cameron, and Galesburg shooting them off on Thursday, and Little York and Keithsburg celebrating on Friday.
