Valley should ban fireworks

Published 1:02 am Friday, October 3, 2008

The fun is totally gone out of holiday fireworks when the safety of our neighborhoods homes and lives are endangered.

I watched with dismay this year’s celebration and the news about three homes in the Valley and one in Klahanie having been lost due to fireworks set off by our citizens – not to mention the four firefighters who lost their lives in the Thirtymile fire in Eastern Washington.

I live in unincorporated King County and it seems there is total disregard by certain individuals for the law and community. For a whole week before the Fourth of July and for nearly three weeks after the holiday, fireworks were still being set off in my neighborhood.

It is dangerous, it is a total nuisance and disturbs our pets to no end – some even get lost during this time; not to speak of the fire danger in such a dry year as we have been having.

Leave fireworks to the professionals and be strict in teaching your children the danger of playing with matches, which should include non-use of fire works. To many people get injured and too much property is lost, and please consider the lives of our firefighters who are put into direct danger in fighting fires which are not necessary.

Thea Tiryakioglu

North Bend