City focuses on enforcement of fireworks ban | SLIDESHOW

Published 1:26 pm Thursday, June 25, 2015

The Renton Fire Department will be stepping up its fireworks ban enforcement this year and has a new strategy to help quiet the booms that regularly ring out this time of year, despite the illegality.

Fireworks have been banned in Renton since 2005 thanks to a voter initiative that outlawed the explosive devices. But each year, police and fire officials still receive hundreds of 911 calls about fireworks.

Last year, for example, the fire department responded to 128 fireworks-related incidents. In 2013, there were 100 calls.

According to Renton Fire Marshal Angela St. John, this year, the fire department is creating three enforcement teams that will be deployed to specific geographic areas that have seen a large number of enforcement calls in the past.

Each team will consist of a fire inspector and a firefighter.

“We’re going to have a more specific approach rather than chasing 911 calls,” St. John told the council Monday.

St. John on Tuesday said the three locations were not yet set as the department was still analyzing the calls from the previous two years.

In addition, St. John said a single firefighter will be designated to collect all of the fireworks confiscated by enforcement teams. In the past, that job was split among many leading to some confusion.

Though some fireworks are legal in the state of Washington and in unincorporated King County, the personal discharge of fireworks is prohibited in Renton, including July 4 and New Year’s Eve.

St. John said Renton fire officials plan to provide fireworks retailers in unincorporated King County with maps showing city boundaries, in the hopes that buyers will not bring any of the devices into the city.

“It’s important if you’re buying them in Fairwood, you light them in Fairwood,” Mayor Denis Law reiterated Monday.

Violators are subject to both criminal and civil citations, confiscation of fireworks and possible fines of $100 to $500. Additionally, the sale, possession, or use of explosive devices such as M-80s, M-100s, and homemade or modified fireworks are felony offenses, and violators will face criminal prosecution.

“The fireworks ban is in place to protect citizens and their property, and it is working,” Mark Peterson, Fire Chief/Emergency Services Administrator said in a press release. “Since 2005, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of painful injuries and costly property losses related to the use of fireworks.”

Officials are particularly concerned this year. With hot and dry weather predicted thorough the holiday, fire danger is very high.

Statewide, fire officials also urge extreme caution. In 2014 there were 432 fireworks-related injuries reported in Washington. There were also 155 fires that resulted in $320, 240 in damage, including $161,050 in damages to residential structures, according to a release from the state fire marshal.

Sixty-six of the injuries were caused by devices illegal in the state.

Brennan Phillips, explosive enforcement officer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was in Renton this month to provide examples of the dangers of both legal and illegal fireworks, with an emphasis on dangerous illegal and homemade devices, like M-80s and tennis ball bombs.

Phillips showed the damage the explosives could do by demonstrating their power on wooden dummies and urged parents to keep an eye out for the illegal devices.

The city is hosting a professional fireworks display at Coulon Park as part of its annual Fabulous Fourth Celebration and St. John urged residents looking for fireworks to attend.

“Leave the fireworks to the professionals,” she said.

If you see or hear fireworks in the city, call the fire department at 425-430-7000. Do not call 911 unless it is an emergency.