--- description: If you plan on lighting some fireworks this Independence Day, don't do what these guys did. title: 5 Firework Fails for July 4th image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d4f176f84e8954d/69869a821eebf7772d371bce/147833293.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Culture](/tag/culture/) ## Culture Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's What You Shouldn't Do With Fireworks This Fourth of July by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 4, 2014 2:00 PM CUT  NEW YORK, NY - JULY 04: Revelers watch the fireworks display along the Hudson River from Manhattan on July 4, 2012 in New York City. Revelers around the country are celebrating the nation?s independence. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NY - JULY 04: Revelers watch the fireworks display along the Hudson River from Manhattan on July 4, 2012 in New York City. Revelers around the country are celebrating the nation?s independence. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)Mario Tama—Getty Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 4, 2014 2:00 PM CUT Fireworks are fun and just as much a part of Independence Day celebrations as cookouts, but please, Please, PLEASE be careful. To deter you from setting your house ablaze with a mix of patriotic fervor, alcohol, and black powder, here are five of the biggest pyrotechnic mishaps ever. Observe the proximity of the bystanders, the lack of forethought, the size of the explosives and make yourself a mental checklist of proper protocol tomorrow before putting that M-80 in your pool. Which you shouldn’t do. Have a happy and safe Fourth of July! ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2954576/heres-what-you-shouldnt-do-with-fireworks-this-fourth-of-july/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2954576/heres-what-you-shouldnt-do-with-fireworks-this-fourth-of-july/"},"headline":"Here's What You Shouldn't Do With Fireworks This Fourth of July","datePublished":"2014-07-04T14:00:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:58:15.186Z","description":"Make sure you have all five fingers on July 5th.","url":"https://time.com/2954576/heres-what-you-shouldnt-do-with-fireworks-this-fourth-of-july/","keywords":["Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d4f176f84e8954d/69869a821eebf7772d371bce/147833293.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d4f176f84e8954d/69869a821eebf7772d371bce/147833293.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fireworks Light Up Skies Over NYC On Fourth Of July","caption":"Fireworks Light Up Skies Over NYC On Fourth Of July","creditText":"Mario Tama—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/culture/","name":"Culture"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2954576/heres-what-you-shouldnt-do-with-fireworks-this-fourth-of-july/","name":"Here's What You Shouldn't Do With Fireworks This Fourth of July"}}]}] ```