Year after year government officials, public safety professionals and media outlets warn of the dangers associated with the use of consumer fireworks.
And year after year countless people spend the nights around July Fourth setting off explosions in their neighborhoods. It’s not just an annoyance. It’s a major threat to public safety.
Last week there were two structure fires in Reading that were caused by Fourth of July fireworks. One fire damaged two homes in the 300 block of North Second Street, displacing two families. Another burned a hole through the roof at Amanda E. Stout Elementary School. Five classrooms sustained smoke and water damage.
Were it not for the heroic efforts of firefighters, doing their jobs even as misguided individuals continued lighting fireworks nearby, this could have been an absolute calamity.
The situation is infuriating, but will anyone learn from this near-disaster?
The truth is there is no easy solution to the problem, but there are steps that should be taken. To begin with, state officials must revisit the fireworks law. A change to regulations that took effect in 2018 has taken a problem that already was bad and made it much worse.
In their zeal to raise revenue by legitimizing and taxing things that had been illegal, state leaders permitted the sale of aerial fireworks and other pyrotechnics considerably more powerful than what had been allowed previously. First responders around the state have reported bigger Fourth of July headaches than usual since the law took effect. A common refrain is that neighborhoods sound like war zones.
There’s a serious flaw in logic surrounding Pennsylvania’s fireworks law. People are permitted to buy more powerful fireworks, yet it’s illegal to set them off in the places where most people live. The law forbids setting off fireworks within 150 feet of an occupied building. That rules out just about every urban or suburban environment. And parks are off-limits without official permission.
The fires in Reading make it clear why those rules were established, and they are hardly an isolated occurrence. Fireworks start an average of 18,500 fires per year, according to the National Fire Protection Association, causing an average of $43 million in direct property damage.
Making it more difficult to acquire stronger fireworks would address part of the problem, but the biggest issue of all is the challenge of getting the message across that this activity is illegal and extremely dangerous.
Law enforcement certainly can play a role here. A good first step would be to apprehend the individuals responsible for last week’s fires in Reading and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Making it clear that there are consequences to flouting this law could make some people think twice about it.
And the uphill climb to educate the public must continue. Police report that many of the people setting off fireworks do not realize they are breaking the law. It’s not just the 150-feet rule. The law limits the activity to those 18 and older, and it prohibits people under the influence of alcohol from using fireworks. These restrictions are routinely ignored.
The point here isn’t to spoil anyone’s fun. Responsible use of relatively mild fireworks is fine. What’s been going on since the change in the law is not. In coming summers, let’s be able to look back on the Fourth of July with fondness rather than regret.
