• Fireworks tent located in Meijer's parking lot on Grand River Avenue.

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The Independence Day Holiday is less than a week away and Meridian Township recently changed its Fireworks Ordinance to help keep residents safe and to celebrate responsibly.

The state changed the laws this year strengthening quiet times for residents. So as of right now the dates that used to be every national holiday, where you could light off fireworks, has now been reduced to only the holidays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Taking it a step further, during those days the time limit has been reduced down, allowing residents to only light up fireworks until 11:45 pm on most of those nights.

One reason for the new rules and regulations include people shooting off fireworks all day and all night long. Fireworks are very loud and typically tend to either wake people up or keep them awake.

For residents wanting to purchase their own fireworks, Meridian Township Fire Inspector of the Meridian Township Fire Department, Tavis Millerov, has a few safety tips to keep everyone out of harm's way:

- Make sure that the grass is mowed and there aren't any dry or tall grasses around.
- Make sure that you have some sort of extinguisher on sight in case of emergency: Fire Extinguisher, Garden Hose, Bucket of Sand, Etc.
- Never relight a firework that didn't go off.
- Never look down the tube to see if a firework is dead or not.
- Make sure only adults are lighting any type of fireworks. Even kids under supervision shouldn't be playing with fireworks.

"We don't recommend kids being involved with shooting off fireworks, ever," Millerov said. He continued on by stating, "My recommendation to everybody is just don't do it. Go to the shows that are in the area, let the professionals handle it, stay safe, keep all your fingers."

Fire inspector Millerov also wants to inform residents that laws that allow shooting off fireworks only allows you to shoot them off on your property only. Going anywhere such as a school, mall or church just to name a few to shoot off fireworks is punishable by a fine as well as jail time. Also any firework that you launch that causes a fire is also worth jail time, some hefty fines and restitution for damages.