Citing fire risk, Petaluma bans fireworks
This year’s fourth of July holiday in Petaluma is guaranteed to look, and sound, entirely different than years past.
The city took its first step Monday in banning so-called “safe and sane” fireworks, following years of consideration, an issue pushed to the forefront recently by Mayor Teresa Barrett and a largely fire-weary community. Yet with Independence Day nearly four months away, the 13 local non-profits and youth organizations that sell fireworks are scrambling to find alternatives now that a major fundraising source is no longer permitted.
The ban covers state-sanctioned fireworks that are available for purchase at the kitschy kiosks that pop up on street corners for a few days before the holiday, including sparklers, fountains and poppers. Illegal fireworks outlawed by the state are primarily those that shoot into the air, explode or move around uncontrollably after ignited, such as bottle rockets, firecrackers and roman candles.
An ‘ongoing threat’
Calls for the ban have been rumbling for a decade, growing louder in the past few years after catastrophic wildfires in the county increased public awareness over fire risks and hazards. Although destructive wildfires like the Tubbs and Kincade fires were not sparked by fireworks, supporters of the ban argue the devices pose an unnecessary risk in a region beleaguered by an expanded fire season.
Fire Chief Leonard Thompson and Police Chief Ken Savano both endorsed the ban on fireworks, declaring their use a public safety risk that inhibit the ability to clamp down on illegal fireworks and eat into their departments’ limited staff resources.
“As a matter of safety, I don’t differentiate between illegal and consumer fireworks,” Thompson said. “Fireworks of all kinds represent an ongoing threat to the public and our community and has potential for catastrophic events, not only for property but injury as well.”
Other arguments supporting the ban listed loud sounds, waste, environmental impact and ability to mask illegal fireworks as reasons why the devices should no longer be used.
Police Chief Savano said the Petaluma Police Department received more than 280 calls regarding fireworks last year, although he said it’s difficult to know how many of those were for illegal fireworks.
The inability to differentiate between legal and illegal fireworks’ damage and injuries underscores questions of whether banning state-sanctioned devices will actually help law enforcement crack down on illegal devices, opponents said. Dennis Revell of Revell Communications, a public relations firm that works on behalf of TNT Fireworks, said the real problem is illegal fireworks.
Monday night’s decision marks a major win for Barrett, who named the fireworks ban as a top priority in 2020.
The city council adopted the ban in a 5-2 vote, ensuring that the only allowable fireworks going forward will be those launched at the annual professional pyrotechnic show at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds.
Barrett was in the minority when the proposed ban was last seriously discussed by the city council in 2018, unsuccessfully pushing the body to enact the ban that year. At the time, the council promised to revisit the ban after the fall 2018 election. New members D’Lynda Fischer and Kevin McDonnell joined Gabe Kearney, Dave King and the mayor in the Monday vote to outlaw the devices.
A few council members made their personal dislike of fireworks displays clear, referencing their distressed pets and experiences living in neighborhoods where legal and illegal fireworks were used.
“When I lived in Midtown on Payran, it was like Beirut in my backyard,” council member Kearney said. “I remember calling numerous times in 2018, I had video and photo of folks setting off fireworks. Some were safe and sane but they were on an eight-foot ladder, others were like mortars going up in the air.”
Loss of fundraising
The fireworks ban comes almost four months before the July 4 holiday, leading some to question whether the shift in policy leaves enough time for nonprofits to change their fundraising models. City staff reported the 13 nonprofits cleared to sell fireworks within Petaluma last year raised a combined $87,000.
“We have had an emphatic request from our fire chief and an emphatic request from our police chief to do this and I don’t think we should ignore those requests,” said councilman Dave King, who has historically voiced support for the ban. “The only reason to not do this is the nonprofits, but the history of this is that the city has been trying to wean nonprofits off the sale of fireworks for years.”
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