Steve Houser, National Fireworks Association President, Discusses Surge In At-Home Fireworks Sales Amid Cancelled July 4th Public Displays
CABRERA: Welcome back. I want to go back to New York, a city still trying to reopen. The number of new cases of COVID-19 in New York continues to drop with only occasional spikes. So in an effort to avoid bringing large crowds together, the Macy's fireworks show has been held over a series of nights this year, beginning this past Monday at secret locations and times. CNN's Alison Kosik joins us now. But, Alison, tonight's the big finale. So what can we expect?</s>ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Ana, I think this time around, I think we're going to see much more toned-down celebrations just because of how the Macy's fireworks show already has handled the event. You know, usually, New Yorkers, you know, they try to find a nice rooftop to stand on or a nice spot to gather in. Not this year, though. No, not this year because I think this year is about more socially distant fireworks. You still will see a show. There is going to be action in the skies tonight but the show's going to be much shorter because of what you talked about there. Macy's actually began with this show last Monday all the way through last night. It held these surprise little bursts of fireworks, kind of surprise shows all over the five boroughs of New York. The whole point of this is to have these mini-shows to give a show, of course, to all the New Yorkers out there but especially to remain socially distant. Macy's putting out the following statement, saying: To encourage and support COVID-19 safety and social distancing efforts and mitigate the advance gathering of large crowds for an extended period of time, we have chosen to delight New Yorkers with unannounced displays across the five boroughs this year. Now, those little shows reportedly happened much higher than the usual fireworks show with heights of 1,000 feet or even more. The idea here was to give more people a chance who were still in their homes, a chance to see the dazzling lights in the sky -- Ana.</s>CABRERA: All right, Alison Kosik, a creative idea. Thank you. Of course, this is a Fourth of July like none we've experienced before. The tradition of the big fireworks displays, minimal this year. In fact, "The New York Times" reports 80 percent of holiday fireworks celebrations have been canceled across the country amid the fears that packed gatherings could become hot spots for new outbreaks. So perhaps no surprise, sales of at-home fireworks are surging. Steve Houser is the president of the national fireworks association and joins us now. Steve, what are you finding when it comes to those sales and use of fireworks, and if more people are firing off fireworks tonight at home with social distancing in effect? Do you see this as a benefit for communities or a recipe for disaster?</s>STEVE HOUSER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL FIREWORKS ASSOCIATION: Well, I think the reason we're seeing such a pronounced increase in consumer fireworks consumption, Ana, is because of the, you know, the COVID restrictions that they're coming out from, and what we're seeing is it's just coincidental with the Fourth of July. And so this is the first big holiday that citizens have had. As far as, you know, those communities and those folks doing them in those communities, we're excited about it. And that's one of the reasons we're happy to be here today is to stress the need for safety and good practical use of consumer fireworks because, when used properly, they can be very, very safe.</s>CABRERA: OK, so walk us through what everyone needs to be talking about in order to stay safe.</s>HOUSER: OK, the first thing that we always recommend is that you need to be familiar with your local laws and ordinances. Make sure you're doing what you can do legally and responsibly. Secondly, we want everybody to always read the instructions that are on the fireworks. And behind me on the graphic, what we've got is a listing of kind of the NFA's top 10. Always block and brace your fireworks. Make sure that you are taking additional precautions to keep them from tipping. Never try to relight a dud firework. Never point fireworks at people. Never hold them in your hand. And always use them as directed on the packaging.</s>CABRERA: The Fourth of July, of course, is a barbecue and beer holiday. How much of a factor is alcohol consumption in the injuries you see?</s>HOUSER: I'm glad you asked that question, because, you know, that's another one of our recommendations is to always have a designated shooter. I actually reviewed the recent CPSC report on accidents, and the serious accidents, one of the common denominators was there was alcohol involved in them. So we strongly recommend having a designated shooter and adult supervision at all fireworks gatherings.</s>CABRERA: Is there such a thing as a foolproof firework?</s>HOUSER: Oh, I don't know. That's a -- that's a good question. One of the things our industry is doing in terms of fireworks is we're trying to innovate and make safer products. You know, one of the things that we saw brought to market last year was a cool spark version of a sparkler to where the sparks aren't hot. It's not a metallic-style sparkler. And at the end of its use, it's kind of gone away. There's nothing left to burn or hurt anybody. So, you know, that's what we're trying to think about as an industry is to produce safe products for the consumer public.</s>CABRERA: Not everyone is so keen on fireworks. Those who may suffer from PTS considering this a high-stress time. Pet owners see their pets in distress. What can someone do to be, I guess, more considerate while enjoying the holiday?</s>HOUSER: Well, those are good, valid points. And you know, we actually, here at my company, introduced a line of fireworks this year specifically designed for those people. They're quiet bursting fireworks in the sky. So, they're what we call low noise, subtle fireworks, if you will. There's also, in our industry -- and you see it at our trade shows a lot -- there are products out there for pets to calm them. And you know, that's very important. We see those vendors at our trade shows and our gatherings and our expos. So, the industry is mindful of it. We know that fireworks do come with some inherent noise. But you know, we always just try to -- be good neighbors and try to do everything we possibly can to put the products in the hand of people.</s>CABRERA: Steve Houser, I really do appreciate all the information you provided. Safety first, obviously, is so crucial.</s>HOUSER: Absolutely.</s>CABRERA: Good to have you here. Happy Fourth.</s>HOUSER: Happy Fourth. Thank you so much.</s>CABRERA: Thank you. We've got you covered on this Fourth of July, including fireworks, in an all-star musical line-up with Jewel, Barry Manilow, C.C. Winans, Don McLean, and many more. Don Lemon, Dana Bash will host CNN's "FOURTH OF JULY IN AMERICA," live tonight starting at 8:00 Eastern. We'll be checking in with them a little bit later as well. These are live pictures from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where, in just a few hours, different eras of fighter jets, bombers and helicopters will fly over the nation's capital. More on what you can expect to see tonight, just ahead.