By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Today, people across the River Region will celebrate New Year’s Eve with food and fun, which will undoubtedly include colorful displays of fireworks.

While reveling in the fun, residents should keep in mind there are parish-approved hours for fireworks, which vary according to where the explosives are ignited.

In St. John the Baptist Parish, parish-approved hours of operation for fireworks are from dusk today until 1 a.m. Thursday, and again from dusk until 10 p.m. Thursday.

St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office officials said all discharging of fireworks should be done with the supervision of responsible adults, and anyone under the age of 15 is prohibited from discharging fireworks in the parish without the direct supervision of a parent, guardian or other responsible party.

In St. John Parish, officials said no fireworks are allowed to be discharged closer than 500 feet from any hospital, church, nursing home or school that is occupied, and no fireworks should be modified in any way from their original design.

In St. James Parish, Maj. Sid Berthelot said the St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office does not regulate hours of operation for fireworks, but urges residents to be safe and smart about using the explosives.

In St. Charles Parish, fireworks are allowed starting at 9 a.m. today and until 1 a.m. Thursday.

St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne urges those who use fireworks to be mindful of safety precautions recommended by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which include never placing any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse, never trying to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully, never carrying fireworks in your pocket or shooting them off in a metal or glass container and never allowing young children to play with or ignite fireworks.

Champagne said parents need to remember young children can suffer serious injuries even from sparklers, which can burn at temperatures of approximately 2,000 degrees.

Keeping a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of a mishap is a good preventative measure, Champagne said, as well as dousing used fireworks with water before discarding them.