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u/Thinks_22_Much 11d ago
For anyone wondering why fireworks are illegal in the city..... this is why.
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u/spittlbm 11d ago
Some will see this and wonder where they can buy them.
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u/ishpatoon1982 11d ago
Bout 15 mins over the state border. Here's $90 bring me back whatever works.
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u/spittlbm 11d ago
South of the Border (SC)
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u/sdforbda 11d ago
Now that's a throwback. We lived a bit west of 95 during most of my childhood and usually went a different drive though. I think the place was called Stateline Fireworks. The owner was a real grandpa type, friendly and welcoming, and had all these little TVs showing off the footage of a lot of the mortars so that you knew what you were buying. I'm sure it's part of the deal like most places but he'd throw some extra stuff in when we cashed out. He was like that family member you saw once a year (or 3) and got excited for.
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u/meerkatmanwhore 11d ago
My ex's family would blow $400+ at that store for the 4th each year. Fucking frightening how little concern they had for their neighbors. My partner actually lived behind them at the time and said they had burn marks on their house after
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u/NotAPreppie 11d ago
Or just run over to Indiana if you live in Illinois.
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u/messick 10d ago
Heh, I spent a summer as kid in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And from what I remember of the rules, Indiana sold whatever you wanted but anything that flew was required (wink, wink) to fired across state lines in Ohio.
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u/ISwearImAnonymous 11d ago
So mfs will drive 15 mins outside of town, half of which is prime area for a safe fireworks event, buy fireworks, make the same trip back INTO the city where ITS NEITHER SAFE OR LEGAL and ONLY THEN DO IT?
Don't make me say it
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u/Ocarina-of-lies 11d ago
Well maybe if they anchored the device down into the ground better. They clearly didn't do it right, and i could totally have done it better
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u/ErusTenebre 11d ago
The people who did this...
Will do it again immediately, and if they don't, it will be the next night.
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u/smotrs 11d ago
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u/EvilMilkshake 11d ago
What's it look like during the daytime now?
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u/Wiccy 11d ago
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u/messick 10d ago
I moved to the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles right before Christmas a decade and half ago, the amount of time into the new year in which our neighbor hadn't yet set their cypress trees on fire was measured in minutes if not seconds. Then a couple years later they set trees on fire again during "Fireworks Season", which has basically the entire summer.
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u/Vantriss 10d ago
Fireworks were banned this weekend in my area because of shit like this happening en masse.
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u/Born_Concentrate7247 11d ago
Isn't common to have a bucket of water with fireworks or is my family weird
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u/theunquenchedservant 11d ago
Your family is sane, no it is not common.
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u/JustaSeedGuy 11d ago
I wouldn't go that far. They're not sane, as they're still launching fireworks.
They're just marginally less stupid than many others
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u/Red-Hill 11d ago
"Marginally less stupid than many others", that's a nice slogan for a t-shirt.
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u/EthanielRain 11d ago
Fireworks are pretty safe if you follow proper procedures. Ofc most don't tho
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u/Hina_is_my_waifu 11d ago
These types of fireworks still launch while submerged in water I've unfortunately learned
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u/I_Miss_Lenny 11d ago
Yeah I remember in my elementary school's version of DARE they showed us a video of roman candle stars and stuff going off in a big fishtank. It got the message across (as did the many photos of burned people) but it also made us want to try setting them off in water lol
We only got a little hurt so it's cool
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u/ButtonGullible5958 11d ago
Extinguisher water trash can garden hose ready 100ft
I don't really anymore but back when we did a lot of illegal fireworks not a single thing cought on fire
We also hosed down just about everything we could within hose reach before hand
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u/TabbyOverlord 11d ago
a bucket of water isn't necessarily going to help as much or as quickly as you might hope. All the combustion/explosions here have both the fuel and the oxygen right in the mix and it is burning hot enough to melt steel (not very much thermal mass though). A CO2 type fire etinguisher would achieve nothing.
Bucket of water is going to achieve something. Bucket of wet sand might be more effective in slowing the projectiles spitting out.
Setting the thing up properly in the first place is the best defence.
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u/Banzai373 11d ago
No, you can’t fix stupid, but you can give it a court date . . . .
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u/Day_Bow_Bow 11d ago
I'm the son of a rural fire chief, and this time of year is always stressful. Firework fires are added pressure.
July is amid wheat harvest. Combine fires and deciding whether to start saving the machine or field before it jumps a fence is not ideal.
Luckily this year has been high humidity and low wind, the opposite of what will burn fast and hot.
Low humidity draws water out of the flora, meaning the fire won't first need to boil it off before it spreads. Makes the fire more efficient with the available fuel.
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u/RyuNoKami 11d ago
Years back, some idiot was launching fireworks and one of them ended up into their home. No one noticed until the fire got too big for them to deal with... Stupid dumbasses.
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u/Ardal 11d ago
I'm wondering what the cameraman has against showing any of what is going on. r/shootthecameraman
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u/1cecream4breakfast 11d ago
These are totally legal in my entire state for 12 days out of the year. I hate it.
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u/RMMacFru 11d ago
Same. They didn't used to be until we had a greedy, bribable governor who green lit it.
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u/Oliver10110 11d ago
I would prefer fireworks in my city. The day after holidays like the 4th and new years, I have to check the hangar ceiling at work for holes and walk the airport ramp outside the hangar picking up bullets from all the idiots shooting into the air the night before because they can’t shoot off fireworks and are too brain dead to realize their bullets have to fall somewhere, but hey at least they got to make something go boom! During the celebration.
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u/jeremyjava 10d ago edited 10d ago
I wonder more why they're LEGAL anywhere else.
How many people are permanently injured just in the US every year?
Edit to answer my own question:
USA Today reports about 10,000-15,000 ER visits, and about 15 deaths every year on the 4th.
Elsewhere I saw some 10% of those ER visits were serious injuries, including 3rd degree burns, amputations, etc.2
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u/HomeworkExtension482 10d ago
Yeah, except my state made it legal to purchase the damn things, so every dumbshit motherfucker in the city buys them and sets them off.
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u/dandle 11d ago
China was playing a very, very long game with the invention of gunpowder.
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u/DisciplinedMadness 11d ago
Gunpowder was unironically an accidental invention. It resulted from monks trying to find a cure for ageing (elixir of immortality). They certainly did find a way to stop people from ageing, just not in the way they intended
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u/Elmarcowolf 10d ago
Step one: invent gunpowder Step two: sell its to the freedom idiots Step three: profit
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u/ThetaGrim 11d ago
This is the average person btw, setting off fireworks right next to you.
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u/Mylaptopisburningme 11d ago
Here in So. Cal fireworks went bad, hurt some people a woman died, he has now been charged. https://ktla.com/news/inland-empire/man-arrested-after-woman-dies-in-chino-fireworks-explosion/
Oh and this guy just got charged even though it happened last year for killing an 8 year old girl. https://ktla.com/news/california/oc-man-charged-illegal-fireworks-blast-killed-8-year-old-girl/
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u/BretShitmanFart69 11d ago
I have never seen more fireworks and more reckless lighting of fireworks as I have since I moved to LA. Which is wild considering how often the whole state goes up in flames from wildfires, you’d think they’d realize that was a bad idea. The other day this guy down the street kept lighting a shitload of these fireworks that generated a constant 6x6 foot spray of sparks everywhere at ground level right next to a car parked on the side of the road. Not to mention that year round I randomly hear them go off for who knows what reason regardless of how late it is.
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u/xjwv 11d ago
I felt guilty about it but I did call the illegal fireworks tip line on the 4th. There are signs posted everywhere that it’s illegal and up to $1k fine and 6mo jail. But people have been seriously injured or even killed like in garden grove/Westminster just a few miles away with that 8 year old girl. There were several going off in my complex and kids are always playing outside, I even saw a woman pushing her baby in a stroller as these literal explosives are going off 20ft away. Not to mention that my shared wall neighbor’s house is a burnt shell because of a house fire. I’m not risking that happening again.
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u/houstontexmex 10d ago
Don't feel guilty for potentially saving lives. These idiots should feel guilty for being stupid.
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u/PaisleyLeopard 9d ago
I do not feel guilty. I cruise my neighborhood and report the addresses of anyone using illegal fireworks. I don’t want people hurt or houses burned down, and I don’t give one single shit if that ruins people’s fun.
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u/Fuck_tha_Bunk 10d ago
People in the Sierra foothills get it. Fireworks have been illegal where I live for decades and most years I don't hear a single one. If someone is lighting some off, the neighbors all call 911 and turn them in. It's not cute we take that shit seriously.
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u/ErusTenebre 11d ago
Yep.
That's California for ya lol
It's like the whole state goes collectively absolutely stupid for the sake of bright lights and big booms.
I'd blame the state for not creating some kind of additional law enforcement strictly for fireworks. The fines and even jail time is there, but they just don't have the manpower to actually ENFORCE it. So people don't give a shit.
It's upsetting.
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u/busangcf 10d ago
Well it doesn’t help that a lot of the people setting off those fireworks are law enforcement themselves. My loudest neighbor by far on July 4th is an LAPD officer. They’re not enforcing anything because they’re part of it
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u/ErusTenebre 10d ago
Ha yeah we had a firefighter down the street that would set a bunch off.
He stopped when he set fire to his own tree.
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u/Fukyourchickenstrip 10d ago
I’m in Pasadena and I saw them going off in the neighborhood just south of where the Eaton fire was in Altadena. Where it’s still blocks and blocks of empty dirt lots where homes were. That’s absolutely insane to me. Your blocks from massive fire disaster but shoot off illegal fireworks? Pasadena’s air ship was out all night and police were everywhere.
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u/SaveBandit91 10d ago
SIX YEARS??? That’s it? For killing a child. What the actual fuck
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u/Fukyourchickenstrip 10d ago
We used to go up to Chino hills and watch all the illegal fireworks north in the valley. You can do that with any hiking trail that looks out into anywhere in LA county basically. Looks like the truck on that car exploded and I bet set the gas tank off. That’s so unbelievably sad.
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u/BBQ_HaX0r 11d ago
Personally I love that each year social media gets more and more of these stupid videos.
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u/My_Immortl 11d ago
Went to the local show last night and as we were all leaving, there were assholes lighting em off from truck beds. WE WERE IN TIGHT TRAFFIC WAITING TO GET OUT OF A PARKING LOT. I was quickly reminded why i don't go to these things, too many crazy idiots around.
And shortly after I started to head home, there was an ambulance, couple fire trucks and some cops going somewhere(my friends live on an emergency route), so somebody paid the price for their stupidity.
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u/simply_aroace 11d ago
This new year's we had dumbasses setting off fireworks in the parking garage. 5 minutes later another dumbass decided to set off fireworks in the balcony next to me.
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u/LegoLady8 10d ago
I have Ring camera footage from a couple years ago of my new neighbor shooting fireworks and the thing fell over like this. Almost set their brand new house on fire. Left a giant, permanent black mark on their brand new driveway too. They never lit fireworks again.
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u/RedPanda7725 11d ago
Continuing to record might have saved that person's life.
Cameraman never dies. You stop being the cameraman, who knows what could have happened....
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u/WabiSabiWitch 11d ago
Interestingly, the cinematographer is the most dangerous position, and the deadliest, in Hollywood. By a large margin.
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u/flargenhargen 10d ago
Cameraman never dies.
You should probably visit the Ukranian war subreddit and watch some videos from russian invaders.
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u/karth11k 11d ago
He should have just covered it with the dumpster.
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u/Both-Variation2122 8d ago
Gunpowder has it's own osidiser, buildup of pressure would lead to dumpster flying too. Would be great. :D
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u/Ancient_Sprinkles847 11d ago
I’ve been around morons like this with fireworks. I now have a phobia of being near fireworks.
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u/DynamiteWitLaserBeam 11d ago
After working from home for the last nine years, I now have a phobia of being near morons.
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u/BretShitmanFart69 11d ago
There is nothing worse than being around a drunk person who has no regard for their own safety or yours, and then you seem like the stupid one for wanting to get out of there or telling them to stop.
They also always are the types that will be more reckless or put you specifically more at risk after you mention it
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u/WeWander_ 11d ago
Same! My birthday is the 4th so it was always a big part of my birthday. When I got older we would party, get drunk, light fireworks. There was always someone way too fucked up lighting fireworks and doing stupid shit, I've had to dodge firework explosions and debris more times than I can count (including several professional shows!). Then I quit drinking and realized how anxiety inducing fireworks are when you're sober. Now I hate them, the 4th and my birthday.
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u/servonos89 10d ago
A phobia is an irrational fear - your fear seems pretty rational to me.
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u/diqster 11d ago
Still doesn't compare to the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62j2YQQ2BmA
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u/Unusual-Pumpkin-5988 11d ago
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u/randomsynchronicity 11d ago
Well thank goodness they saved the evidence
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u/HereIGoAgain_1x10 11d ago
I'm guessing cops would have nothing else to do except write up reports of fireworks gone wrong on the 4th, like could go a whole year 40 hrs a week if they only did that crime lol
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u/MeisterManson 11d ago
Motherfucking bootleg fireworks!
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u/Mcbadguy 11d ago
You can draw a straight line from that video to the hydro homies subreddit being created
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u/BeefistPrime 11d ago
haha please explain
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u/Mcbadguy 10d ago edited 10d ago
In the original video he says "Get the water, ngga!". It sparked conversation about water nggas, as in people who like/consume water. This led to the creation of the subreddit r WaterN*ggas, which was just about people who enjoy water, but was eventually reported for its name and had to be reborn as r Hydrohomies to avoid pissing off any soda honkies.
Edit: Here is a link to the OG video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62j2YQQ2BmA
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u/lycoloco 10d ago
Damn, I was there early on before it became HydroHomies but didn't know this was the mountain that sparked the snowball. That's awesome.
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u/buttbiter88 11d ago
How to get the whole neighbourhood to sue you.
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u/NewspaperExotic8791 11d ago
We can only hope. People like this only learn when THEY experience the serious consequences.
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u/mcbeardsauce 11d ago
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u/man_with_a_hound 11d ago
I've never seen a woman lactate that violently.
( Joke shamelessly stolen from Jonathan Ross)
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u/The_Ashamed_Boys 11d ago
This is why my wife put her car in the garage yesterday. She's literally never parked in the garage.
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u/flargenhargen 10d ago
yep. same.
I got the top and doors off my new Jeep, and when my gfs neighbors started lighting off fireworks, I'm like, "ok, time for me to go. I don't need this shit." straight home and parked in my garage.
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u/pm_me_doro_pics 10d ago
It's times like this where I'm glad I live in a quiet and peaceful neighborhood. Had 200k of cars sitting in my driveway and this didn't even cross my mind.
Although now you guys got me paranoid so I probably will still park inside next year lol.
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u/Chaz28o 11d ago
Gonna have some mad neighbors
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u/spittlbm 11d ago
I think they're pretty lucky neighbors. Their houses didn't burn to the ground.
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u/Effective-Leg7283 10d ago
that's like saying you're lucky for being in a school shooting because you didnt get killed
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u/Alarming-Building-62 11d ago
Why the hell would you just balance it with nothing holding it in place? This is so stupid on so many levels.
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u/NotAPreppie 11d ago
"Think of how stupid the average person is and then realize half of them are stupider than that."
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u/Alarming-Building-62 11d ago
Quite fitting. I tried to respond “apt” but my comment got removed because it didn’t have e ouch characters….lol
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u/ONLYPOSTSWHILESTONED 11d ago
you silly buffoon, you're supposed to say "indubitably, my dear friend"
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u/Sparklykazoo 11d ago
You're supposed to stick it in a bucket of sand. People are indeed stupid.
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u/ArtisticMudd 11d ago
Friend of mine from high school had a beach house, and our crew would go down there on 3-day weekends (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, New Year's Eve). Each of us would buy like $400 worth of fireworks, so we had a freakin' truckload of them. On NYE, we could also find various Christmas trees out for trash so we'd grab those too. We went down to the beach, away from the actual houses, and had the fireworks display of a lifetime. Then at the end, we'd build a big bonfire with the firework shells and the Christmas trees. Good times, good times.
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u/Dj-DTM 11d ago
Why does it say it gets worse the longer you watch??
I thought it got better and better…
https://giphy.com/gifs/3o85xGocUH8RYoDKKs
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u/Lopsided-Tension 11d ago
I saw a pic in another sub today of someones pc that got destroyed. Looked like a bomb went off. It was his neighbours letting off fireworks that smashed through his window. I'm wondering if these are the clowns with the fireworks.
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u/obiwanjabroni420 11d ago
Very low odds…there are way more of these morons out there than you would like to believe.
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u/No_Community_5696 11d ago
When we people learn to have a bucket of water nearby just in case?
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u/Majac412 11d ago
The real thing for people to learn is to put bricks or large rocks on the base of the firework. That extended base is designed for a weight to be placed on it so it cant tip over. Would resolve this entire thing
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u/Noinipo12 11d ago
We put them inside a cinder block if they're a firework designed to go up. We also have a 5 gallon bucket of water, a nearby hose, a fire extinguisher, and we wear safety glasses.
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u/BrightonBummer 11d ago
>we wear safety glasses.
Imagining americans wearing safety glasses whilst setting off fireworks is a hilarious image.
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u/LobstaFarian2 11d ago
I use a piece of plywood and screw that sucker down. Loose mortar tubes are just not the way.
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u/CoffeemonsterNL 11d ago
There are metal clamps on the market specifically purposed to stabilize fireworks. I bought one when I felt that the kickback of fireworks going off got rather big. The clamp is big enough to even hold large cakeboxes.
Background: I live in the Netherlands, where on new years eve fireworks are allowed within some boundaries. The restrictions grew stronger over the years (no single shots, no firecrackers), and now the intention is to forbid all fireworks for private people. The major issues are the illegal fireworks (especially the big bomb-like firecrackers) and the launching of fireworks outside the allowed times (i.e. only during new years eve). And no, I will not restart the discussion here.
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u/NoBonus6969 11d ago
Well it's not supposed to be on grass to begin with. They do just fine on flat road
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u/83franks 11d ago
I don't think water would put out the fuse once it got in would it?
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u/Individual-Area7121 11d ago
I dunno that that would have actually helped in this particular scenario. They failed just at pointing it away from houses, getting it into a bucket seems unlikely and pouring it over top would do nothing.
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u/redd-junkie 11d ago
Where does this magic firework live. That's a lot of bang for a buck.
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u/hunnypunny 11d ago
The street over from us caught fire and I’m betting it was something like this 😬
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u/SuddenKoala45 11d ago
Wonder if showing this over shoeing blown off hands would stop wanna be pyro show designers more than the blown up hands
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u/Brave_Mammoth675 11d ago
And yet my neighbors are still lighting them off right now. So sick of these stupid people.
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u/Omnishrimp 11d ago
Why do they even make them last so long? One single error and you have one of those exploding around you for an eternity.
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u/FIMD_ 11d ago
The consumer grade mortar tubes fall over after just one shot on level ground if you just rely on gravity and no prep/fixturing.
You have to be a special kind of defective to just try and rawdog it with something like this on the grass by the curb 30 feet from your whole family and house.
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u/NewWorldReview 11d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/qCbxDK31NoH03SwomM
The neighbor getting ready for bed.