Miami-Dade Fire Inspectors Check Stands For Illegal Fireworks That Fly Or Blow Up

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Everyone enjoys a good firework show, but those pyrotechnics are pretty powerful.

It's why Miami-Dade fire inspectors are going to firework stands around the county, making sure what's being sold is legal.

"Nothing here blows up or flies, so that means all this is legal. All this is legal in Miami-Dade County," explained Yfrahin Rodriguez with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

That's the key – if it blows up or flies, you can't sell it in Miami-Dade, no exceptions.

Smoke bombs are legal. So are sparkling fountains. There are lots of popular items that fall under "the allowed category" like snap pops and sparklers.

"This little pop right here, you can throw it on the ground or snap it in your fingers and it just pops.  Kids love it," said Jason Cuson, who works for RTC Events.

Related: City Of Fort Lauderdale Shuts Down Roadside Fireworks Stand, Seizes Inventory Worth $100K

Candi Casanova bought a bag full of approved fireworks for her grandchildren.

"So making sure everything is safe for the grand kids?" CBS4's Ted Scouten asked her.

"Of course, making sure they be safe," she replied.

"You want them to keep all their fingers," Scouten added.

"Yes, trust me on that one!" she responded.

New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul found out the hard way what can happen with exploding fireworks. He lost a finger two years ago in Coral Springs.

There's already been a serious accident because someone was using fireworks on their own.

It happened Friday afternoon at a home on NW 11th place in Fort Lauderdale.

Fire rescue rushed the man to a hospital in serious condition with injuries to several of his fingers.

Nobody else was hurt, but injuries like that seem to happen every year despite the repeated warnings from the experts.

For those hitting the sands to watch the fireworks, police are asking for your cooperation to make everything as safe as possible.

"We are asking the community to come with lots of patience. We are going to have lots of people joining us, a little bit of traffic," said Miami Police Department spokesperson Freddy Cruz. "If you can take some other means of transportation, Metrorail, and there is going to be a parking issue."

And while we all love the fireworks, the festivities, the boating, in this day and age of terror attacks the reality is you must be vigilant.

"If you see anything suspicious, any suspicious intentions of any kind, report it to one of the officers or call 911," Cruz said.