Pa. residents can celebrate this July 4th with aerial fireworks
Observer-Reporter
Fireworks were on display at the TNT Fireworks tent on Jefferson Avenue in Washington.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
A lack of Fourth of July fireworks displays will likely prompt more people to set off their own this year. Washington fire Chief Gerald Coleman said residents need to be reminded which fireworks are legal and which are not in Pennsylvania. He also said people should be careful, especially in communities with houses that are close together.
Observer-Reporter
Fireworks are on display at a tent along Jefferson Avenue in Washington in this 2018 file photo.
Pennsylvanians will be able to mark this Fourth of July with an even bigger bang than usual.
A tax bill Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law in October contained a provision that legalized the purchase of so-called “consumer-grade” fireworks that contain a maximum of 50 milligrams of explosive material. Pennsylvania residents can now purchase aerial fireworks such as firecrackers, Roman candles and bottle rockets and set them off in their own backyards.
So far, this law change has generated an increase in sales for Keystone Fireworks in Greencastle, Franklin County, said store manager Lisa Stoner.
“We’re just excited we get to finally sell to PA residents,” she said.
Before the tax bill repealed the restrictions previously enforced by the Fireworks Act of 1939, Pennsylvanians were limited to buying hand-held or ground-based novelties such as sparklers and fountains, said state police spokesman Ryan Tarkowski.
But Keystone Fireworks, near the state line with Maryland, kept consumer-grade fireworks in stock for consumers from out of state, who were not so restricted in their purchases.
Stoner said some of Keystone’s repeat customers who travel to the store across state lines have been surprised when they reach the checkout line and see that their total is $300 to $500 more than what they’re used to.
This is because the fireworks’ legalization came with a cost for consumers: a 12 percent tax on top of the existing sales tax. Still, Stoner said she is hopeful business will continue to thrive at her store throughout June and into July.
The purchase of “display fireworks,” or those that contain more than 130 milligrams of explosive materials, are still restricted to professionals who hold permits from the municipality where the display will take place, said Tarkowski.
Tarkowski added there are also still restrictions on where legal fireworks can be set off – they cannot be discharged from or toward a building or motor vehicle, within 150 feet of an occupied structure, on public or private property without express permission of the property owner; or by an individual under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance or another drug.
Fireworks can be dangerous, Tarkowski warned. During June and July 2016, emergency departments across the country treated more than 7,000 fireworks-related injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Fireworks Annual Report from that year.
Of this number, an estimated 1,300 injuries treated were associated with firecrackers, 500 with Roman candles and 400 with bottle rockets – three types of fireworks now legal for purchase by Pennsylvanians 18 years of age and older.
“Please follow manufacturer instructions and laws surrounding [fireworks’] use,” Tarkowski said. “Nothing will ruin the holiday faster than a trip to the emergency room or a visit from the fire department as the result of a fireworks-related accident.”
Darrin Iams, who has run DNT Fireworks in West Alexander with his wife since 2011, is well aware of the risks that come with setting off fireworks. Iams said he carefully explains to first-time buyers how to safely and efficiently discharge their purchases and hopes that other sellers will do the same after the law change.
“The last thing I want to see is a bunch of people who have never shot off fireworks before getting hurt,” he said.