Don’t Keep Fireworks in Your Self Storage Unit

Independence Day 2023 is coming up next month. We hope you have a wonderful time making memories and celebrating the joy of America’s freedoms. Celebrations capped off by fireworks and sparklers, add to the joy and excitement. However, when using fireworks at home, it is important to always follow safety guidelines.

While you’re enjoying your festivities, however, please be cautious not only when using but when storing your fireworks.

Extra Fireworks Don’t Belong in Your Self Storage Unit

Please refrain from storing any fireworks or other explosives in your self storage unit when you’re done using them. This is against the policy of most self storage facilities due to the high risk of explosions. In fact, anything that can cause damage or harm to your belongings and those of other tenants is prohibited.

Furthermore, such materials pose a significant threat to the safety of staff and visitors, and it’s not worth the risk of serious injury or damage. Remember that storing unauthorized items can also make your self storage insurance invalid, so it’s important to be aware of what you can and cannot store.

Below are most of the items that you are prohibited from storing in your self storage unit. You can get a complete list by asking the manager at one of the Universal Storage Group locations.

-Plants
-Firearms and munitions
-Food and pet food
–Flammables, explosives, radioactive materials
-Lead paint, asbestos, urea-formaldehyde, petroleum products, or methane
-Medical waste
-Stolen goods
-Cash (not covered by insurance)

If you have leftover fireworks that you need to store, stay safe by following the guidelines below.

Storing Fireworks for Safety

These tips can help keep you and your family safe.

Tip 1: Depending on where you live, it may not be legal to store fireworks anywhere on your property. If you want to store your leftover fireworks, check your city or county ordinances to verify that storing them is permitted.

Tip 2: High temperatures do not set fireworks off. It’s okay to store them in a hot, dry environment; it’s only the heat from a match or lighter that sets them off.

Tip 3: Keep those unused fireworks in a secure place away from your home and family. The best place is a locked shed that is far away from the house. And, don’t store them near ignitable, flammable materials like oil, gasoline, water heaters, or any kind of open flames.

Tip 4: Don’t store fireworks in cardboard boxes. Not only will these add fuel to the fire if there is a catastrophe, but cardboard will not protect fireworks from water. Fireworks that have become soaked are dangerous and unstable. The best solution is a metal storage container. Don’t overpack the box and crush the lower layers, ruining the fireworks for later use.

Tip 5: Never tell your children where the fireworks are stored. Be sure that pets can’t get at them.

Tip 6: Keep a fire extinguisher near the fireworks storage area.

Tip 7: If fireworks get wet, they become unstable and should be completely soaked and then discarded. It could be dangerous to dry them and try to reuse them.

Tip 8: When fireworks have been stored in a manner that keeps them dry, the chemicals do not deteriorate or become unstable or dangerous. If no moisture gets into the packaging, fireworks can last 50 years and perform as if they were new.

Now that we’re finished with the serious stuff, here is some fun Fourth of July trivia from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Fun Fourth of July Facts

• July 4, 1776: Thomas Jefferson noted in his “Weather Memorandum Book” that the weather was cloudy, the temperature 76ºF.
• July 4, 1776:  Only two men signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776—John Hancock and Charles Thompson.
• July 4, 1777: During the 1777 independence celebration in Philadelphia, a ship fired a 13-gun salute to honor the 13 colonies, and the Sons of Liberty set off fireworks over Boston Common.
• July 4, 1826: Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson—signers of the Declaration of Independence who each later became president—died on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the declaration.
• July 4, 1884: The Statue of Liberty was formally presented to the United States by the people of France.
• July 4, 1911: It was a hot Fourth of July in New England. All-time state records were set in Nashua, New Hampshire (106°F), and Vernon, Vermont (105°F).
• July 4, 1938: The Fourth of July became a national holiday.

Enjoy celebrating this patriotic holiday but be extra vigilant when you’re using and storing fireworks. Keep yourself and your family safe so that you can enjoy happy memories for years to come.