6-25-2024 4:36am

FIREWORKS CAN BE

4th Of July Fireworks Etiquette: Vets With PTSD And Runaway Dogs

Not everyone, nor every living creature, love neighhborhood fireworks displays. Here are some things to keep in mind.

While many Americans like to put an exclamation point on their 4th of July celebrations with a loud, aw-worthy backyard fireworks display, their neighbors may be suffering silently in their homes.

The number of Americans who don’t like fireworks could be as many as 1 in 5, according to a 2021 YouGuv survey of 6,000 people. For these people, the weeks leading up to Independence Day can be miserable, especially with deregulation of consumer fireworks laws that allow Americans in most places to celebrate the holiday with everything from sparklers to aerials to big noisemakers.

There is no single reason some Americans have soured on the 4th of July, although noise pollution is a big one, particularly for combat veterans and gun violence survivors living with PTSD. Loud fireworks can frighten dogs and other pets and cause them to run away more than at any other time of year.

Below are some things to keep in mind as Independence Day approaches:

Nightmares, Flashbacks And Trauma

As many as 500,000 U.S. combat veterans over the last 13 years have been diagnosed with PTSD, according to the National Institutes of Health. The Veterans Administration says about 23 percent of military veterans seeking VA care have experienced PTSD at some point during their lives. Not all veterans get medical care through the VA, and the agency estimates that overall, 7 percent of military veterans have had PTSD at some point, which is slightly higher than 6 percent of the general population with the disorder.

The exact number of veterans diagnosed with PTSD varies according to the war or conflict they fought in, according to the VA. But in total, tens of millions of veterans whose service dates back to the Vietnam War have symptoms fit the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Those include nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive trauma memories and “hyperarousal symptoms” — a range of symptoms from irritability or aggression to risky or destructive behavior.

Noisy fireworks can trigger anything from anxiety to a full-blown panic attack or combat flashback among people who are vulnerable, according to the VA. The agency recommends noise-counseling headphones as a defense against loud noises, but people living with PTSD are often at the mercy of their neighbors.

“The fireworks make me want to beat the crap out of whoever is lighting them off,” Steve, a Vietnam veteran from Evergreen Park, Illinois, said last year in a survey on fireworks etiquette for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column. “Too many drunks think it’s nifty to scare people and feel that it is their right to do so. Grow up, go to your local fireworks display, have a good time and respect your neighbors.”

Nighttime fireworks are particularly problematic, according to Leah Blain, a clinical psychologist and director of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania.

On top of other stresses, “nightly occurrences of these really triggering stimuli [and] unexpected sounds” can put some veterans in a crisis situation, Blain wrote in a post for Penn Medicine News.

“So we have a loud, unexpected noise, often under the cover of darkness. If we think about what a combat scenario looks like, you're expecting incoming fire and explosions that you have to be on guard for, that are often happening at night,” she wrote. “And fireworks serve as a very significant reminder of these experiences, PTSD or no. So this really does impact people. It really disrupts sleep. It increases stress. I would say it is a pretty significant stressor for people.”

Ask Around The Neighborhood

There are things people who want to shoot off fireworks can do to make veterans in their neighborhoods more comfortable.

“I would like my neighbors to know that while it’s fun for them to ‘out-bang’ others in the area, there are people on the other side of the fence who suffer from PTSD, insomnia, heart problems, sensitive ears and have sensitive pets,” Cathy, a Glendora, California, reader told Patch for Block Talk last year.

She would like to see some kind of awareness campaign “to give surrounding neighborhoods insight on their actions and fees if caught.” Vendors in California, which has some of the strictest fireworks laws in the United States, should inform their customers of the law, and “hand out to all buyers to be sensitive to surrounding areas, trees and dry brush,” Cathy said.

If you’ve invited a veteran to your 4th of July party, ask them if they’re OK if the celebration includes fireworks. When they know to expect it, veterans with PTSD can employ a variety of coping techniques — or completely remove themselves from the situation. Some states, including Michigan and Minnesota, offer fireworks-free camping to veterans at state parks.

“What you don’t want to do is start shooting off fireworks before asking,” Dr. Ron Samarian, a psychiatrist at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, wrote on a blog post.

“If a combat veteran is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the noise of fireworks can elicit a startle reaction from them because it reminds them of bombs, guns and other explosives,” Samarian said in the blog post. “The sound can put the veteran right back into the combat situation.

“To frame it in a pleasant way, it’s like if you smell an apple and you remember going to the orchard as a child. Only they’re flashing back to a traumatic combat situation.”

If you’re aware of a veteran who lives in the neighborhood, move the noise as far away from that person’s home as possible, and let them know ahead of time what to expect, the VA advised. Another idea: Celebrate with sparklers instead of loud fireworks.

Your Dog Doesn’t Want To Do Fireworks

The family dog is part of your tribe, and you may be tempted to take the pooch along when it bolts toward the car as you’re packing it for a Fourth of July outing. Don’t acquiesce. Taking them along to experience the sights, sounds and a crowd of hundreds is a bad idea.

Dogs have a heightened sense of hearing and the boom-boom-boom of fireworks is traumatic for them, they’re likely to bolt. The days of July 4-6 are among the busiest of the year for animal shelters. Animal control office across the country report a 30 percent to 60 percent increase in lost pets between those dates, according to PetAmberAlert, a lost pet finder.

“They don’t know where the noise is coming from, and they try to escape because they don’t understand,” Dallas Harsa, an executive at the American Kennel Club’s Reunite, said in a post on the group’s website.

If the dogs runs under the bed at the sound of the first clap of thunder, the cacophony of fireworks will be “utterly terrifying,” according to the American Humane Society. Even dogs that are secured with a leash or chain can break loose and jump a high fence when frightened. Many of them are never united with their owners.

Many pets that run away on the Fourth of July are never reunited with their owners. The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy estimates that fewer than 2 percent of cats and 20 percent of dogs entering shelters are reunited with families.

What To Do To Calm Pets

Animal welfare advocates advise taking dogs on extra-long walks and extra play time to tire them out before the festivities begin.
It’s best to sequester them inside and make a place where they’re shielded from loud noises. Run a fan or soft classical music.

If you already know the dogs are frightened by loud noises, don’t leave them alone while you’re out celebrating. Make sure someone can stay behind with them. If you can’t leave your dog unattended, make sure the pooch is leashed and under your direct control at all times.

You may want to consider medication, especially if dogs become highly agitated in noisy situations. There are some non-prescription alternatives, like ThunderShirt anti-anxiety jackets (they make them for cats, too) that apply gentle, constant pressure similar to swaddling an infant, the makers say.

Also, make sure your dogs are microchipped, that the license is current, and that ID tags with contact information are properly affixed to the pooch’s collar, which should fit securely enough the dog can’t slip out of it. This information is vital if your pet does run away.

Stop At A Reasonable Time

Consumer fireworks are legal in all U.S. states except Massachusetts, although some cities and counties in states that allow them have banned their use. Laws typically prescribe the hours fireworks are permissible.

But a lot depends on the neighborhood and the day of the week the holiday falls, Block Talk readers told us last year. This year, the 4th of July is on a Thursday. Many people will make a four-day weekend of Independence Day celebrations, while others may have to report for work as usual.

Independence Day is one of Americans’ favorite holidays. Many readers in our 2023 Block Talk survey called for a lenient midnight cut-off. Later than that, steps on the rights of others, they said.

“Your booming fireworks that aren’t even pretty annoy … me,” a reader said. “It’s your legal right to set them off, but not until 3 o’clock in the fricking morning.”