Community Chat

[Nataliesgramma]

There really needs to be a ban on these. I saw on the news this morning that an 8 yr old girl was killed in PA and also a Pro hockey player that had a mortar land in his hot tub. One house was heavily damaged when fireworks caught fire in a man's garage.

My brother had a big hole burned in his boat cover and he had debris in his pool and on his roof. His poor Goldens would not come out of the basement even under heavy medication. He said his neighborhood sounded like a war zone.

Down the street someone's shed caught on fire and a rocket went through a garage window.

Ridiculous people are so irresponsible.

[catter70]

We've had 2 suspected deaths on the local news from fireworks. One was a young boy and the other a firefighter that was doing his final shift before moving back to Canada. I have stuff on my roof, driveway and yard-remnants of fire works. I'm always in fear of my house catching fire. The only problem is, banning them doesn't stop anyone from getting them if they really want them.

[Greeneyedlady21]

Happens every year. I just don't get the attraction and need for it.

[Bri369]

This year was especially bad.  

[walkingal]

@Nataliesgramma  I agree.  When I hear them going off in my neighborhood, all I can imagine is them landing on my roof and setting my house on fire!  I don't get the attraction.  Adults setting off firecrackers in a residential neighborhood -- ridiculous!  

[Sooner]

Well people can ban fireworks all you want, however in an era when lots of police forces are being reduced I hope that works out for us.

I know a friend in another town in this state who says that a gigantic increase in neighborhood fireworks in her town is because people said, hey fewer police, they can't worry about that this year.  

[agb80]

The people in my neighborhood who don't mind throwing away money on professional grade fireworks are quite arrogant.  They think they know what they are doing when really they've just been lucky so far that no ones tree or home has caught fire.  Also, huge amount of smoke from the fireworks and me and my husband saw the birds trying to get away from it.  They nest in the many trees we have and an urban environment would not necessarily impact them as they absolutely did in our residential district.  We saw them and felt really sorry for them flying away.  Smoke was thick and really awful to breathe.  But, you can't tell these people anything because they won't listen.  

[Grade1Teach]

I don't mind a few fireworks here and there, but the loud ones are really bothersome.  They are not done for beauty or for fun.  They are done to be loud, dangerous and obnoxious.

We had neighbors across the street in our old neighborhood that used to put on an amazing display each year.  The sons were firefighters, so it was assumed that things were done safely and they were left alone by the police and the fire department.  When we first moved there, the neighbors told us to make sure we sat out on the lawn to watch.  It seemed people from all over town came to watch the display, but we had a front row seat!

As time progressed, my 4th of July parties got bigger and bigger because everyone wanted to see these incredible fireworks.  It also turned out that our neighbor's displays got bigger and bigger too.  They also became more dangerous.  They still used the beautiful and brightly colored fireworks, but they also began using the very loud and dangerous ones.  It came to the point that some of my guests would take cover inside my home and my poor dog would be scared out of his mind.

The final straw for us  was the one year where their fireworks got so out of control that some landed on my front bushes and put them on fire.  They had to be extinguished.  On that same night, a hot firework landed on my mother-in-law's shirt and burned a friend of the family on her arm.  We were so incredibly lucky that no one was seriously injured.  Although we did not call the police, someone from the neighborhood did and their displays lessened in subsequent years.  I still had my parties, but some guests would leave before dark and most of us went inside by the time they started their fireworks.

We lived there for 8 years before buying our house now.  I don't miss the 4th of July there at all, but we all still talk about those wild and crazy fireworks in the old neighborhood.

[gardenman]

Fireworks of all types were banned in NJ until a few years ago. It didn't matter. It's a relatively short drive to Maryland where they weren't banned and people would load up there and bring them here. The fireworks companies used to give people coming back order forms for others to fill in for the next time they came back. Reportedly as soon as you crossed the Maryland state line, there were large fireworks stores just waiting for the out of state customers.

They lifted the ban on fireworks here in NJ a few years back but it hasn't really made a huge difference as so many people were smuggling them into the state anyway. There might be 10% more being set off than there were when it was illegal, but the increase hasn't been dramatic.

[On It]

Bans can work. I am sitting in the middle of a national forest. About 10 years ago two boys playing with fireworks started a large forest fire. I have not heard a single firework this July 4. Local police were joined by the Fire Department, Sheriff's Department, Forest Service, and State Police in ending fireworks here.

The media is key to helping stop fireworks being abused. They can do a blitz campaign before New Year's and July 4 warning the public as was done here. When people disregard the law and are ticketed with the worst offenders being arrested, they can air the names of the worst offenders and their fines. Issuing a ticket and just paying a fine isn't enough of a deterrent in today's climate of "laws aren't for me."

A big contributor to the problem is community groups are manning fireworks booths as a fund raiser. These groups need to be pressured to find another source for fundraising eliminating the free labor for the fireworks vendors.