Twenty-one fire and safety organizations are calling for a ban on all consumer fireworks, but are facing setbacks by several states that have recently lifted their restrictions.
When the organizations allied three years ago, there were 10 states that banned all consumer fireworks. However, there are now only six states that ban all consumer fireworks: Arizona, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
In the year 2002, the latest year for which national fireworks-related fire statistics are available, fire departments responded to an estimated 3,000 structure and vehicle fires started by fireworks, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Traditionally, on the Independence Day holiday, fireworks cause more fires in the U.S. than all other causes of fire on that day combined.
The NFPA reported the estimated injury risk from legal fireworks was 14 times as high in the states that permitted sparklers and novelties compared to the full-ban states. In states that permit most or all consumer fireworks, the estimated injury risk was 57 times as high compared to states that ban the use of all consumer fireworks.
One of the states to lift their ban recently was Georgia, where fireworks had been illegal from 1962 until this year.
"It was not a decision from this office, it was from the legislature," said Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John Oxendine. "We're not focused on whether the law was good or bad - we're focused on educating the public about fire safety."
Oxendine said his office is working to educate the public about the proper use and risks of fireworks, as well as training fire departments about what to expect. He said his office recently ignited a fireworks display to demonstrate the behavior of fireworks for the media and fire service, and are now distributing a tape of that event and other materials to fire departments throughout the state.
In Maryland, ground based sparklers were made legal in October 2001, for the first time in sixty years. However, the state still does not allow bottle rockets or anything that shoots into the air or moves across the ground, said Fire Marshal William Barnard.
He said the state legislature moved ground based sparklers out of the definition of fireworks, and they are now allowed in most jurisdictions, except for Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Baltimore City.
Barnard said he was very concerned when the law was changed. "We've had some issues, but not as many as I would have thought, quite frankly," he said. These included some brush fires that got into dwellings.
He said most of the problems with fireworks have been due to "intentional misuse," or more dangerous fireworks from out of state. If used in accordance with instructions, ground based sparklers are relatively safe, he said, but the reality at a back yard barbecue is that there are usually kids and alcohol and other distractions.
"We urge people to see a public display as opposed to using consumer fireworks," Barnard said. "We will have 110 displays in Maryland between Friday, July first and the tenth. That's going to give them a better show anyway."
Even states where fireworks are completely illegal may have issues, like Maryland, with fireworks crossing the borders from more permissive states.
Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention Paul Martin of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control said that unfortunately, New York's ban has not eliminated fires and injuries due to fireworks in the state.
"I wish that was the case but we still see it," he said. "They make their way across the borders."
Martin said some dealers actually market aggressively to New Yorkers through the Internet and U.S. mail, protecting themselves by including disclaimers that if fireworks are illegal in their state, buyers can purchase them for use somewhere else.
"And that leads to problems," Martin said. Some people will go out of state to fill their truck or van with fireworks, and then set up illegal roadside stands in New York.
"Other states' acceptance of this does make it that much more difficult for us to be able to see to it that the laws are followed in New York," Martin said.
As a result, New York needs to promote public education about fireworks just like states where they are legal. "The reality is we have no other option," Martin said. "We know products are going to find their way into New York."
The health and safety alliance advocating a ban on all consumer fireworks includes the National Fire Protection Association, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, Fire Department Safety Officers Association, International Association of Arson Investigators, International Fire Marshals Association, Metropolitan Fire Chiefs, National Association of State Fire Marshals, and National Volunteer Fire Council .
For more information, visit the NFPA website.
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