Fourth of July Fireworks Etiquette

We're privileged to have a guest blog entry from Nicole L. Sawyer, Psy.D. from Exeter, NH who writes with an extremely important message to remember during your Fourth of July celebrations. Please be considerate of combat veterans in your area who may have intense reactions to the sight and sound of fireworks.

Happy Fourth of July every one! What a wonderful time for summer fun with family and friends. For those of you who love, treat, or interact with combat veterans on a regular basis, you know very well how difficult these few days can be. The anticipatory anxiety can be debilitating, not-to-mention the events themselves with their inescapable (and often unpredictable) booms, cracks and hisses. You are also likely aware of how frustrating and difficult this holiday can be for a veteran’s family when their loved one cannot or will not participate in what is a quintessential American tradition aimed to celebrate the very freedom that he or she fought to disseminate and maintain. 

Get out there and celebrate our independence! Enjoy that BBQ, splashing in the lake, ice cream and fireworks. Do so proudly, but do so respectfully. Its common courtesy, but even more so respectful when you consider the impact your fun might have on those around you. Please practice some fireworks etiquette this summer: 

1. Keep the at-home fireworks to a minimum (preferably none). Your town probably spends a lot of money each year on a wonderful display, enjoy it! Support your local BOOM!! 
2. If you must light fireworks at home or in your neighborhood: 
   • Do not light fireworks outside of the July 3rd to July 5th window, (exceptions are made for weekend lighting when the 4th falls on a mid-week day) 
   • b) If you are planning to light fireworks, alert your neighbors. Leave them a note, knock on the door, whatever it takes, just let them know what time you will be setting them off and what time they will end. It’s just courteous. 
   • c) At-home fireworks should be capped by 2 hours past dusk. You don’t have to be a combat veteran to be upset and annoyed by fireworks going off late into the night. 

Here are a few explanations about why fireworks can be so tough for combat veterans: 

The sudden, unexpected crack or boom is extremely startling and reminiscent of taking enemy fire. Having a reaction to this is not PTSD, its simply body memory. A sound that at one time indicated a serious risk for death or injury is going to leave its mark. It is the rare combat veteran who doesn’t jump at the sound and find himself feeling at least a little amped up and vigilant. Even the sound far off in the distance can have an effect (sometimes worse) because it meant that a threat was on its way (imagine what that grim anticipation must have been like). 

Now take that sudden crack or boom and chain them together, for hours on end, from all directions, unpredictably…very quickly your neighborhood (and every neighborhood around for miles) has the feel of a warzone. Not fun if you’ve ever been in one. 

Here’s where the etiquette comes in: fireworks are tough to tolerate, but they are easier to handle for many combat veterans if they are predictable and visible. The town fireworks display has a beginning and an end and a predictable date; if you must light off an at-home display, yours should too. 

For some combat veterans, even the town display can be intolerable. The whistles and crackling and sparks in the sky, not-to-mention the chest pounding booms (and even the smell) can come with very specific reactions to some very specific memories of types of bombs, explosives, artillery and the like. These folks need to take good care of themselves during this time. Be respectful and understanding of their self-care, even if it means they do not join in the “fun.”

The 4th is a wonderful holiday! Celebrate! Respect and common courtesy for our loved ones and neighbors is just good form. Be safe everyone! Happy 4th! 

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