MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The fourth of July is coming up and soon there will be fireworks lighting up the sky at night.

While fireworks are beautiful to watch, they can be dangerous and need to be handled carefully. Some things to avoid while lighting off fireworks is being to close to them after you light them off, lighting them off when they are not set properly on the ground, or lighting them off when you are under the influence of alcohol.

Mark Joseph from Sparky's Fireworks outlet provided the tip that "you're going to want to make sure your fireworks don't tip over. Don't be afraid to support the fireworks, they need to be going up in the air instead of tipping over.

Lieutenant Greg Frenger of Meridian Township stated that you may only light fireworks on your own property, and law enforcement can take action if you are lighting fireworks on public property or on property that is not your own.

One helpful tip for lighting off fireworks said by George Adams from Phantom Fireworks in Lansing is that "there should always be one person dedicated to lighting off and disposing of the fireworks. That will keep others out of danger and make sure that the person is knowledgeable about what to do when lighting the fireworks."

There are many different precautions officials urge you to take when lighting off your own fireworks, and and important tip to remember is to use common sense.