Saturday night’s tragic house explosion in Liberty stands as a chilling reminder of the deadly dangers of fireworks and other explosives and of the need to make safety priority No. 1 whenever using even legal pyrotechnics.

It also should reinforce the fact that even though Ohio, like 48 other states in the union in recent years, has greatly liberalized laws on consumer fireworks use, not all such explosives are considered lawful for public handling.

Such appears to be the case in the explosion on Northlawn Drive in the township over the weekend, in which (at press time) at least one man died and two others, including a 4-year-old, were critically injured.

We send our heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones and pray for speedy recovery of the survivors.

According to Liberty fire Chief Doug Theobald, investigators at the scene believe illegal fireworks caused the explosion that ripped out the front of the home on the corner of Montrose Street. That home is a total loss and will be demolished.

“There were two significant explosions one right after the other. From the damage done, they were two very powerful explosions,” Theobald said.

Though the chief noted the property has now been cleared of explosives, he advised everyone to leave fireworks use and handling to the professionals.

While we largely agree with that sage advice, we are realistic enough to recognize that thousands in the Mahoning Valley will take advantage of our state’s looser regulations and celebrate the upcoming Juneteenth and Fourth of July holidays with festive and colorful displays of ear-splitting and eye-popping firecrackers, Roman candles, sparklers and other high-flying legalized luminaries.

After all, fireworks have been as American as mom, baseball and apple pie for centuries.

In fact, they’re as old as The Declaration of Independence itself. In a letter to Abigail Adams on July 3, 1776, future president John Adams wrote that America’s break from England should be marked “with Pomp and Parade, Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one end of this Continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”

Flash forward 249 years, and Adams’ colorful vision of Independence Day remains even more clear and popular. To be sure, the U.S. consumer fireworks industry is booming. According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, use of consumer fireworks has exploded with lightning speed, showing a nearly threefold gain from 102 million tons in 2000 to 295 million tons in 2024.

The joys of those high-rising displays of low-grade explosives also must be accompanied by rigorous responsibility and strict adherence to the letter of Ohio law.

That means fireworks cannot be legally blasted just any old time of any old day. The state’s 2022 law loosening consumer fireworks displays strictly limits their use to eight holiday periods throughout the year — including next week’s Juneteenth celebration and next month’s three-day Fourth of July extravaganza. It also codifies that they may be set off only between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. (later on New Year’s Eve).

The law also specifies that only low-intensity consumer-grade fireworks — not those designed for professional handling only — are permissible for backyard bashes.

But even those low-grade varieties do not come without their fair share of dangers.

How dangerous? In 2023, eight deaths and an estimated 9,700 injuries from fireworks were reported nationwide, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

That’s why it’s critical to keep these potentially injury-sparing tips from the CPSC foremost in mind before lighting up:

• Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper because this is often a sign that the fireworks were made for high-grade professional displays and that they could pose a danger to consumers.

• Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities. Parents must realize that young children suffer injuries even from sparklers.

• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.

• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.

• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.

• Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.

To be sure, fireworks manufacturers also have placed a greater premium on producing safer pyrotechnics in recent years. Nevertheless one truism remains: Fireworks in the wrong hands and in the absence of critical safety precautions can still produce far more gloom than boom.