Should NC legalize consumer fireworks? A look into the state’s restrictive firework laws

Many North Carolina residents know that the state is notoriously restrictive when it comes to fireworks regulation. Most powerful fireworks cannot be legally sold.

In fact, during holiday seasons, many people travel across the border to South Carolina, where fireworks are abundantly available.

With so many already flocking to other states to partake in the holiday tradition, should North Carolina legalize fireworks?

That question has been annually introduced in a legislative bill for the past several years, according to Tim Bradley, executive director of the North Carolina State Firefighters’ Association. And every year, groups like the North Carolina Fireworks Safety Coalition lobby to defeat such bills.

“The dangers range from children losing fingers, parents losing eyes, shooting aerial fireworks and landing in a barn or roof of a house or in the gutter with pine needles and setting the house, barn or whatever on fire,” Bradley said.

This year, the bill was introduced by state Sen. Amy Galey, an Alamance Republican. Senate Bill 470, the “NC Consumer Fireworks Safety Act,” would legalize many consumer fireworks, including those with aerial effects. Currently, only a limited category of fireworks are legal, including things like wire sparklers, glow worms, smoke bombs and trick noisemakers.

“Full legalization of consumer fireworks is a welcome change that is long overdue,” Galey said in a statement. “Other states have enjoyed the use of fireworks for many years, and this bill gives North Carolinians the same opportunities to responsibly celebrate special occasions and holidays with family and friends.”

The bill, which was introduced in April, has yet to see action in any Senate committees. A long list of organizations, particularly those involving firefighters, are a part of the NC Fireworks Safety Coalition, which opposes such legalization. Among those included are the North Carolina Department of Insurance and the Office of the State Fire Marshall.

Jan Parker, president of the Firefighter’s Burned Children’s Fund Wake County chapter, is also opposed to increased firework legalization. She told The News & Observer that even currently legalized fireworks pose significant dangers to children and that North Carolinians should instead “leave it to the professionals.”

“I’m a grandparent now — I would never get my grandchildren sparklers to play with,” Parker said. “We know that children’s clothes catch on fire, they throw down that hot stick and step on it barefoot and have a blister on their foot. There’s not anything really positive about it.”

Proponents of such legislation, however, point to the majority of states where most consumer fireworks are legal. Only one state, Massachusetts, categorically bans consumer fireworks. They argue that the fireworks industry is growing rapidly, and legalization could bring money to the state. SB 470 would tax consumer fireworks at 5%, giving a quarter of the proceeds to the Firefighters’ Education Fund. Supporters also argue that, despite the proliferation of fireworks demand across the country, pyrotechnics have actually become a lot safer over time.

“The injury rate has gone down. It’s at the lowest level ever,” Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, told The N&O. “And I can’t think of another product on the market that has had such a significant increase in usage and enjoys a decline in the injuries at the same time.”

A nearly identical bill to SB 470 was debated in 2019, as previously reported by The N&O. That bill, however, did not advance past committee after opposition from firefighters and the State Fire Marshal.

“At least half of all injuries are to innocent bystanders, and 36 percent of them are children,” Sarah Bales, a lobbyist representing the NC Fireworks Safety Coalition, said at the time. “They’re dangerous products.”

Heckman, however, argues that keeping such products illegal may have the inadvertent effect of decreasing safety overall.

“Many people choose to break the law, and use backyard consumer fireworks. And when they do so, they’re very careless because they’re trying to get away with something and not get caught,” she said. “When fireworks are legal, they can take the time to plan, practice and determine the best place to actually stage and ignite their fireworks. Then they typically tend to take the time to read and follow the instructions for use.”

Because the fire service does not have arrest or search authority, and because law enforcement often has more important issues to attend to, the illegal use of fireworks is often overlooked, according to Bradley.

“Our position is, if you can go down to the neighborhood store and buy them then the usage is going to increase substantially as opposed to people going to South Carolina,” he said.