BURTON, S.C. (WSAV) - For many of you, when it's the Fourth of July, fireworks are the first thing on your mind. They look great and can be a lot of fun, but can be dangerous if you aren't careful. News 3 went to the experts at the Burton Fire Department for a hands-on demonstration of how quickly your holiday can turn. "Fireworks are not designed to interact with human beings," explained Cpt. Lee Levesque of the Burton Fire Department. That's why we used mannequins provided by Belk and looked to the experts from the Burton Fire Department to show just how dangerous these explosives can be. Where to watch fireworks for July 4th "Do we all say, 'It can't happen to us, it won't happen here. I've done this 100 times.' It only takes 101. That one can make the difference between life, death, trip to the hospital," said Levesque. Last year alone, there were more than 10,000 fireworks injuries in the United States. Six of those ended with someone dead. Many of those injuries are because of inattention or unsafe practices by the people handling them. "Make sure you know exactly what they're going to do, how they're going to ignite, how they're going to react once they are ignited," Levesque advised. "Some of the stuff that we set off today we had questions like, 'Which end is this going to come out of?'" the captain smiled. "Know before you light it, where it's going to go so that you can account for both people watching yourself and, God forbid, you don't want to let a house or the woods or an unintentional fire somewhere." Levesque said duds can be especially dangerous. "Regardless of where or when or how you use fireworks, always ensure that you have water very, very close by, particularly a bucket. Some fireworks don't light off. Also known as duds to that capacity, the manufacturers tell us, leave it alone for five minutes. Don't approach it. Absolutely. Do not relate it. Douse it with water. Before you do touch it, make sure you have a gloved hand to touch it and then put it in a bucket of water and leave it there for at least 24 hours before disposing of it." Officials warn against celebratory gunfire this 4th of July The captain said that while July Fourth is celebratory, unfortunately, sometimes bad things happen to good people. "It is critical that no matter what we do, we take just a few moments and everything we do this weekend and every day to consider our safety of ourselves, those around us, surely our families, pets and our homes," Levesque said. Another reminder: set off those fireworks in an open field or a wide open area nowhere near woods or anything else flammable. “When it comes to clothing, just because it says it’s not flammable doesn’t mean it’s not going to melt," the captain said. Make sure there is enough room to watch the fireworks go up while making sure nothing else will "go up" as well.