> Obviously how you use the thing is important.

Is there a way to use large fireworks in a residential neighborhood that isn’t “light them on fire to cause an explosion”?

Large? When fireworks within the ATF limits for unlicensed individuals are used according to manufacturer instructions they explode on the ground or in the air in a way that does not endanger the surrounding structures. Of course you can't safely light them off in a narrow alley between three story buildings. Anyone doing that (or similarly foolish things) was behaving recklessly to begin with.