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  • Fireworks explode over Pymatuning Lake. Shows like this one are conducted by trained pros but on the 4th of July, it seems like everyone is a pyrotechnic enthusiast. David E. Dale/Herald

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July 4, 2012

Illegal? Yes, but nobody really cares

State fireworks laws defy logic, enforcement

By Tom Davidson Herald Staff Writer

SHENANGO VALLEY — In a nation of more than 312 million people that was founded in a celebrated act of civil disobedience, it’s no wonder that Independence Day is marked in many places by blatant disregard for fireworks laws.

Most of the flashes and bangs, sparkles and twinkles and boom, boom booms that are commonplace this time of year on many streets and backyards are illegal in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

That doesn’t stop people from buying fireworks and business has been good this year at Wholesale Fireworks’ Hubbard headquarters.

“A lot of people bought early this year,” sales manager Ray Hall said Tuesday afternoon.

Because the Fourth falls midweek, “we don’t have crazy lines,” Hall said.

The aisles of the store were filled with a steady stream of people and workers were busy going to and from the adjacent warehouse to pick up cases of items bought by some people.

“Some regulars put on a big party,” Hall said.

They “pull in with a U-Haul and spend eight to ten thousand dollars and fill up the whole truck,” he said.

Some of the items go for upwards of $100 a pop and assortments sell from about $50 to $150 for a little bit of everything.

It’s all “buy one, get one free” and wholesale cases of the products are sold at a discount, he said.

It’s legal to buy them in Ohio, although it’s a third-degree misdemeanor to set them off in the state, Brookfield Police Chief Dan Faustino said.

Those shopping in Hubbard must sign a form that obligates them to transport them to another state within 48 hours.

In Pennsylvania it’s legal to sell them to non-residents, and residents can buy non-explosive sparklers and fountains, but are restricted from buying more-potent pyrotechnics. It’s also illegal to set off larger fireworks in the commonwealth without a permit.

But it’s rare to be cited for the crime and evident that local police don’t place a high priority on cracking down on firecrackers and larger pyrotechnics.

“How much staff does a police department have to track down complaints?” Faustino said.

Police do their best to maintain order and respond to nuisance calls, but issue warnings before citing someone, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, he said.

Such was the case June 21 on Syme Street in Masury, when a man was caught throwing firecrackers at people, Faustino said.

A neighbor called police about the man, who hasn’t been charged but will be, Faustino said.

He was throwing “larger firecrackers” from a car and when a neighbor confronted him with a camera to document the incident, he exposed himself and told her to photograph that, Faustino said.

“He hasn’t been arrested yet,” Faustino said but police are preparing citations for public indecency and unauthorized possession of fireworks and interviewing witnesses.

Last year, Brookfield police responded to three fireworks complaints in the 24 hours that encompasses the holiday, during which they responded to 17 total calls, Faustino said.

“Call volume just doesn’t dictate,” enforcing the fireworks law, he said.

 

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