Fireworks in Florida

The Florida Legislature has created a Task Force on Consumer Fireworks to study the issue of further legalizing (or banning altogether) the use of Consumer Fireworks in the State of Florida. If you are a resident of Florida or interested in this issue, please check out the Task Force website here. There are a number of presentations on injury and use data, as well as some draft solutions on the website. Currently in Florida, consumer fireworks can be purchased at “wholesale” for a number of exemptions, including agricultural use and signaling for railroads. Such exemptions are not verified beyond signing a simple affidavit which is never audited or followed up on. Needless to say, large quantities of fireworks are sold every year for personal consumption, surprisingly unrelated to agriculture or railroads… It really is a terrible situation because no one enforces the law and there is an implicit endorsement that nobody cares if you break the law, as long as you’re not too much of a nuisance. Here is the comment letter I submitted.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Task Force:

Thank you for serving on this very important committee and I appreciate the opportunity to make my voice heard.

First, I must say that I find it imperative that something be done to address this issue, one way or the other. The condition that exists now is unacceptable because it is a system that implicitly encourages flouting of the law. We are a nation of laws and those laws must be respected and enforced. While fireworks may seem like an inconsequential matter in the grand scheme of things, I believe the current situation breeds an unhealthy contempt of the law due to lack of enforcement and the “wink and a nod” system at the stores. That being said, I don’t believe it’s the job of the fireworks stores to police their customers. Make a law that’s clear (which, personally, I believe the current law to be) and enforce it.

Given that I think we all agree the current situation is untenable, I’ll move on to why I think further restrictions for firework use are not necessary. Everyone talks about the injuries and deaths caused by fireworks. I know y’all saw injury/death statistics in the November meeting, so I’ll try not to belabor this point too much. I did want to point out a few things from the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2005 (the latest edition I could find) Fireworks Annual Report. There were four deaths reported in 2005 due to fireworks. Two were caused by people improperly transporting fireworks in a car, one was caused by a person using a professional class shell illegally and the final one was caused by somebody holding a mortar tube while he launched the firework. The imprint of the base was on his chest afterwards. Unfortunately, you can’t fix stupid… I don’t mean to sound callous, but really, more regulation isn’t going to help people that are using professional grade fireworks or placing a launching tube on their chest. As for the other two deaths that occurred in a car, no information is available as to how the fireworks were ignited. Let’s assume that these are tragic accidents in which there was no misuse or stupidity involved. An average of 9 kids a year die from furniture tipping over. Can you regulate that? It seems we have a much more serious problem with that than from fireworks.

A popular position I’ve heard, even from one of your task force members, is being “anti fireworks that explode or launch”. According to the CPSC’s 2005 report, in the busiest one month period for firework usage, fully 20% of firework related injuries occurred from sparklers, fountains and novelties, not items that explode or launch. Over 55% of the injuries that occurred to children under age 5 were caused by sparklers. In fact, mortars, cakes and roman candles combined didn’t cause as many injuries as sparklers alone. Those who advocate this position are deeming the level of risk posed by sparklers and fountains to be an acceptable risk, while saying a lower risk level posed by other types of fireworks is not acceptable. How can this be explained consistently?

The fact is, used as is, legally or illegally, correctly or incorrectly, fireworks aren’t that dangerous… Or should I say, everything is dangerous. People get injured and killed on bikes, in cars, with toaster ovens. I’ve taken my 5 year old son to the emergency room 3 times. He broke his arm running down the driveway. Mandate rubber pavement? He busted his head open on the corner of a wall. Require padded rooms? Is it tragic when people get injured by fireworks? Absolutely. Are there people that abuse fireworks? Obviously. So go after those people and let us responsible users enjoy a safe product.

The practical reality of this world is a more tender matter, I understand. This is an emotionally charged issue and I realize when emotions become involved logic usually suffers. I would be open to a “Consumer Licensing” or permitting program, as it seems y’all are considering, provided the cost was not prohibitive ($25-$50 seems reasonable). I guess I wouldn’t oppose a “County Approved Area” where items that explode or launch could be used, provided it was mandated that every county has at least one such area. Surely you won’t relegate all fireworks to such an area. Thank you for your time.