By William Smith
Two years ago, the state of Iowa made it impossible for cities and counties to ban the sale of fireworks.
The new law has proven to be a headache not only for Burlington Fire Chief Matt Trexel, but the city at large. You can freely buy them at several tents around town, but it’s still illegal to shoot fireworks in Burlington.
“The first offense (for shooting fireworks) is up to a $750 fine,” Burlington Police Chief Marc Denney said.
The fireworks tents are open now and have undergone inspections by the Burlington Fire Department. Trexel addressed the process during the Burlington City Council meeting Monday night.
“The fire marshal (Mark Crooks) goes over as soon as they’re open. He’s going to try to get them to put up a sign that says ‘Consumer fireworks use is not legal in Burlington,” Trexel said.
Trexel said the state highly regulates fireworks stands, meaning the city cannot attach additional ordinances. When fireworks were legalized in Iowa in 2017, local governments initially retained control over fireworks sales.
“The only thing we get to do are the inspections because we volunteer to do them. If we don’t do them, the state will do them. But there are so many tents,” Trexel said.
“You can’t keep them from opening. You have to allow them to open, and then we choose to do the inspection.”
More fireworks
The law allowing fireworks stands went into effect right before the Fourth of July holiday in 2021, and fireworks calls exploded.
“I mean, over the last two years in a row, it’s really been a mess. We had to shut down Circle K on Maple and shut down their pumps,” said Sgt. Chad Zahn, public information officer for the Burlington Police Department.
The increased use of fireworks resulted in a garage fire on Highland Avenue as the clock ticked to midnight on July 5, 2021.
“Before it was done, nine other properties were damaged,” Crooks said. “It resulted in $200,000 of losses to the insurance companies.”
The next year, in 2022, the Burlington Fire Department responded to two house fires caused by fireworks.
“From May 1 to July 31, we had two structure fires, two property damage calls, three brush fires, and a dumpster fire, all caused by fireworks,” Crooks said.
That wasn’t the only damage done. Zahn said. A man severely injured at least one of his hands last year while setting off an explosive firework.
“An officer responded and applied a tourniquet to his hand. It just ruined his hand,” Zahn said.
Zahn said the Burlington Police Department received 209 fireworks calls during the Fourth of July period (roughly a month) in 2021. That dropped to 126 last year, which he said is still an unmanageable number.
“When you figure the number of officers working at a time, and the other calls they’re trying to handle – it’s impossible to respond to 126 calls,” Zahn said.
The $750 ticket is stiff but can be tricky to enforce.
“We have to see them ignite it, or have evidence that they ignited it,” Zahn said.
“A fireworks call isn’t a priority call necessarily, so if we’re on another call, it may be 15 or 20 minutes before we get to that fireworks call.”
Enforcement
Trexel said the best way to curb illegal firework usage is through education. He doesn’t expect the general populace to keep track of Iowa’s changing laws.
That’s why he’s making a concentrated effort to get the word out through any media available. He also likes to remind the public that fireworks can be downright terrifying for pets and those suffering from PTSD — especially war veterans.
“I think there’s a certain amount of the population that doesn’t realize that they can go to Hy-Vee and buy fireworks in the tent, but you can’t use them (in the city),” Trexel said.
Fireworks or gunshots?
The expression “fireworks or gunshots?” has become an axiom for social media.
Gunshots and fireworks can be hard to differentiate, leading citizens to ask in Facebook posts if they just heard a gunshot or a loud explosive.
Trexel said it’s a problem not only for the police department but for the fire department as well.
Trying to find a fire in a bank of firework fog isn’t easy. Even though fireworks fires have only resulted in property damage so far, it could be worse.
“It’s harder for everybody to direct their resources properly,” Trexel said.
City manager Chad Bird is urging anyone with the desire to see fireworks on the Fourth of July to attend one of the local, professional displays.
He pointed to the West Burlington Fourth of July celebration as a great way to do that. The fireworks display, always set for 10:01 p.m. the night of July Fourth, is an example of cooperation between Burlington and West Burlington.
“The fireworks are actually shot off in Burlington because we issue the permit for that here, but it’s shot off by West Burlington and is for the city of West Burlington,” Bird said.