My brothers and I played with firecrackers starting when we about eight years old. We had a gravel pile around the yard so we would be put two or more tied together with the fuse push it into a hole in the gravel, light the fuse and stand back about 10 feet.

Occasionally we would have a lit one dropped on the ground. Heavy duty work boots and just stand on it.

Roman candles and sky rockets would be launched from a piece of angle iron pounded into the ground at a slight lean from straight up. For those, light the fuse and step back about 30 to 40 feet.