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Firework embers in trashcan ignited Marietta house fire
Spent firework debris was thrown away after New Year's Eve. The remains caught fire again and started a housefire on Silver Leaf Dr. in Marietta in the early hours of New Year's morning. A firefighter lieutenant explains how to prevent fires like this and protect your home after setting off fireworks.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - A New Year's Eve celebration of fun and fireworks ultimately led to an early morning fire near Marietta.
What we know:
A Cobb County family escaped injury Thursday morning after smoldering fireworks placed in a trash can ignited a fire.
Firefighters believe a family was asleep when their neighbor noticed their house burning.
A neighbor reported the blaze at 5 a.m., allowing the family to flee the home safely after the improperly discarded fireworks sparked the flames.
There was evidence of spent fireworks on the ground following the celebration, but no one was home.
The family escaped danger and no one was injured.
What they're saying:
Cobb County fire officials say this family did not dispose of their fireworks properly after the celebration.
A lieutenant tells FOX 5 folks who are celebrating should immerse their fireworks in water after the festivities.
Cobb firefighters returned to Silver Leaf Drive where a New Year's Eve fireworks celebration ended with an actual fire and significant damage to a Cobb County house.
Firefighters say the quick response of a neighbor prevented a tragedy.
"The homeowner stated they have been lighting off fireworks the night before," Steve Bennett of Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services said.
"They were, of course, for the celebration of the new year, and they had bagged up or thrown out all the fireworks in a garbage can, and that garbage can appears to have caught fire and started the fire on the exterior of the building," Bennett explained.
Neighbors say the homeowners had recently moved in.
Dig deeper:
Cobb firefighters have advice for anyone setting off fireworks, which are made of flammable cardboard tubes and gunpowder. "The NFPA recommends that if you discharge fireworks, before you discard them, you throw them in a bucket of water and you let them soak for at least 24 hours before you throw them in a garbage can," Bennett advised.
FOX 5 could not speak with the family because no one was home at the time.
The Source: Cobb County Fire Lt. Steve Bennett spoke with FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor. Homeowners also offered insight for this article.