(Host) Many Vermonters will celebrate the Fourth of July by lighting sparklers. The devices became legal in Vermont as of June first.
Supermarkets and roadside stands are selling sparklers at a rapid pace. Louie Manno owns a convenience store in Burlington. He expects to sell more than a thousand packages of sparkers before the holiday weekend. Manno says nostalgia is responsible for the popularity of sparklers:
(Manno) “We’re living in a day and age when everybody is overly cautious, and where everybody is uptight, and this is kind of like a small throwback to maybe more na ve and more carefree days.”
(Host) Manno encourages his customers to rely on common sense to make sparklers safe to use:
(Manno) “This is one you want to keep an arm’s length away from your face when you light it. And again, you don’t want to hand one to a 3-year-old and turn the other way. You want to observe all safety.”
(Host) State officials say children should not light their own sparklers, and should not run with sparklers. They also recommend placing used sparkler wands in water.