Home football games will still finish with a bang this season, but students will not have the right to hold their own celebratory light shows.
The Tempe City Council unanimously voted Thursday to ban the use of consumer fireworks within city limits. The ban will apply to sparklers, ground spinners and other illuminating torches.
“It was something that we had thought long and hard about,” councilmember Onnie Shekerjian said. “It certainly was the recommendation of our fire chief and fire department that we not allow the use of [fireworks].”
Residents are not permitted to use fireworks that fly above the ground or explode, such as rockets, firecrackers and Roman candles, said Tempe Fire spokesman Mike Reichling.
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Professional fireworks displays will not be affected by this new ban, he said.
“In the fireworks business there are a lot of safety rules and regulations,” said Kendon Victor, pyrotechnic productions manager for Fireworks Productions of Arizona. “At this point we have put our support behind the fire department, EMTs and people who deal with what happens when people don’t use fireworks responsibly.”
Fireworks Productions of Arizona is the largest and longest running fireworks company in Arizona, and has served Tempe for more than 20 years, Victor said. Residents can see proof of their product just by looking up during ASU football games or across Tempe Town Lake on the Fourth of July.
According to the National Fire Academy and Fire Administrators, there were 30,000 fires attributed to the improper use of fireworks in 2008 in the U.S., 7,000 injuries and seven deaths. Forty-three percent of the injuries were children under the age of 15.
“I am really big on personal freedoms but we live in a densely populated area,” Shekerjian said. “I would never forgive myself if someone was killed as a result of us allowing [fireworks].”
Tempe’s main concern is preventing injuries and millions of dollars of property loss from fireworks, Reichling said.
“Most people celebrate with fireworks,” Victor said. “The downside of that is that a lot of times in their celebrating you start mixing drugs or alcohol or getting crazy and then next thing you know someone has gotten hurt.”
There are no previous statistics to document the impact of consumer fireworks on Tempe because the sale of this product has never been legal before, Reichling said.
The ban is in response to a new law passed by the state Legislature in May. The new law makes it legal for people 16 years and older to buy certain types of consumer fireworks in Arizona. The law was signed by Gov. Jan Brewer and goes into effect Dec. 1, making consumer fireworks illegal until that time.
“The ban is strictly on use,” Reichling said. “You can buy all you want, you just can’t use it in the city of Tempe.”
Although the Legislature passed the law, the state also gave each city leeway to ban the use of consumer fireworks and exercise the right to safely serve the citizens of the community.
In order to allow the sales of consumer fireworks, the fireworks industry lobbied the Legislature and the governor, advocating that the incoming sales would bring a lot of money into the state, Reichling said. Although there are pros and cons to the new law, Tempe ultimately sided with the individuals who spoke out the loudest for their community.
Tempe expects that come December, people will set up shop on street corners close to shopping centers to advertise and sell the legal fireworks. Retailers will be able to sell them inside the shopping centers as well.
“So the Targets and the Safeways and the Fry’s are going to have them as well,” he said.
Reichling said the minimum fee for violating the ban on consumer fireworks will be $250. The amount could increase depending on a judge’s ruling for each case.
Tempe is only one of many cities jumping on the bandwagon to ban the use of consumer fireworks. Scottsdale, Mesa and Chandler are all looking to react to the new law as well, he said.
Bright lights are still in the future for Tempe though. Unlike other cities, the possibility of Tempe completely banning all uses of fireworks is unlikely.
“We have a really good handle on the permitting process and the inspections of the professional displays,” Reichling said. “It would have to be very extreme to go to that measure.”
Reach the reporter at amoswalt@asu.edu
