NewsJune 24, 2016
Vendors gear up for fireworks sales
Large, white tents have popped up in parking lots throughout the region, which can mean only one thing: It’s fireworks season. From sparklers to Roman candles to artillery shells, local stores are ready to light up the Southeast Missouri skies. Throughout the state, fireworks sales began June 20, but local city ordinances can override those rules. In Cape Girardeau and Jackson, for example, seasonal retailers cannot begin selling fireworks until June 27...
Large, white tents have popped up in parking lots throughout the region, which can mean only one thing: It’s fireworks season.
From sparklers to Roman candles to artillery shells, local stores are ready to light up the Southeast Missouri skies.
Throughout the state, fireworks sales began June 20, but local city ordinances can override those rules. In Cape Girardeau and Jackson, for example, seasonal retailers cannot begin selling fireworks until June 27.
“It suits us very well,” Rick Hoffman, owner of Hoffman Family Fireworks, said of the shorter season. “It makes for a better season and a safer season and less of a problem for some of the residents who just don’t like to have two weeks of noise going on their area.”
There are exceptions to the rule. Hoffman’s brick-and-mortar store in Scott City and other year-round fireworks stores such as Reeves Boomland already are stocked and ready to go.
“We have a license to sell year-round,” Rick Hoffman said.
But the pop-up shops throughout the region, including those owned by Hoffman, must wait.
Hoffman has run his family fireworks business for more than 30 years.
Though they both are retired now, he and his wife, Mary Ann, worked as educators in the region while also maintaining their store, which functions most heavily in the summer months.
“We’re very involved in the business from about the middle of May to the middle of July,” Hoffman said. “Outside of that time, it’s not nearly as much.”
Vendors from beyond the region and the state are making their way to Southeast Missouri to sell celebratory explosives.
Businesses headquartered nearby in St. Louis, and more distant Nebraska and Alabama, will join the regional business community, if briefly.
Some long-distance vendors hire local help to manage the temporary shop. Carol Strattman will sell fireworks on behalf of Nebraska company Bellino Fireworks, in a tent on Siemers Drive.
Strattman, the principal of Saint Mary’s Cathedral School in Cape Girardeau, will man the tent alongside other educators at the school as a fundraising opportunity.
Proceeds from the stand will help fund a trip for the teachers to attend the National Catholic Educational Association conference in St. Louis.
“We’d never heard of anything like this before,” Strattman said. “So we decided to give it a try.”
To run a pop-up fireworks stand in Cape Girardeau, vendors must apply for a business license beforehand.
The city does not collect taxes on the sale of fireworks; taxes are collected by the state. Ivan LaGrand, fire inspector for the city of Cape Girardeau, said he will inspect each tent, but not the fireworks themselves.
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That’s the job of the state fire marshall, LaGrand said.
“They have specialty inspectors that can look for anything that’s out of the ordinary.”
Safety is key when it comes to fireworks, and Hoffman said it begins with production.
Hoffman frequently travels to China to inspect the factories from which the fireworks are imported.
“We know where the fireworks are made and how they’re made. We know many of the factory people; we stay in touch with them,” Hoffman said. “It’s important information for us in maintaining a quality firework and a safer firework.”
Hoffman said it’s not uncommon for corners to be cut for the sake of cost when an importer depends on a low price from the producers. “And if quality’s not there, safety’s not there.”
There are rules regarding at what age a person can buy or sell fireworks, but as far as use is concerned, there are no resrictions on who can use them, as long there is adult supervision for people younger than 17.
Injuries are not uncommon when it comes to fireworks use, and according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 30 percent of fireworks-related injuries happen to children younger than 15.
The commission reports in the month around Independence Day, about 200 people on average go to the emergency room every day with fireworks-related injuries.
SoutheastHEALTH reported seven emergency room visits July 3 and 4 last year, which included two hand injuries, four second-degree burns to hand and forearm and one explosive injury to the hand and wrist.
In the same time period, Saint Francis Medical Center’s Emergency Department treated three patients with burns.
All three were younger than 18.
There are ways to reduce the risk of injury.
Children, LaGrand said, must have adult supervision.
Fireworks should be shot in wide-open spaces to reduce potential house or property fires.
“Read the packages. Know what you’re dealing with and use caution,” LaGrand said. “Just use common sense and be safe.”
Each city may have different rules regarding when and where fireworks may be ignited. In Cape Girardeau and Jackson, they may be used from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from June 27 to July 3. On July 4, they may be used until midnight. In Scott City, fireworks use begins Saturday, June 25, between the hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until July 3. On Independence Day, they may be discharged between 8 a.m. and midnight.
bbrown@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3630
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Fireworks safety tips
- Never allow young children to handle fireworks.
- Older children should use fireworks only under close adult supervision.
- Light fireworks outdoors in a clear area away from onlookers, houses and flammable materials.
- Light one device at a time; maintain a safe distance after lighting.
- Do not allow any running or horseplay while fireworks are being used.
- Never ignite devices in a container.
- Do not try to relight or handle malfunctioning fireworks; douse and soak them with water and discard them safely.
- Keep a bucket of water nearby to extinguish fireworks that don’t go off or in case of fire.
Source: National Safety Council
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