Huntington Beach Votes to Ban Use of Safe-and-Sane Fireworks

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Monday night to ban the sale and use of so-called safe-and-sane fireworks, handing a long-sought victory to Fire Chief Raymond C. Picard.

But the action brought dismay to community organizations that raise funds by selling fireworks.

In voting 5 to 2 to outlaw the fireworks, the council joined 11 of Orange County’s 26 cities that have forbidden the sale and use of the safe-and-sane devices.

“There is a feeling tonight that if we ban safe-and-sane fireworks, we ban the good guys,” noted Councilwoman Grace Winchell, who voted for the ban. “But as our (wood) roofs get older and drier, the problem gets worse.”

Councilmen John Erskine and Tom Mays, who voted against the motion to ban the fireworks, had voted moments earlier in favor of letting residents decide the issue in a June, 1988, election. Citing a box of 15,461 signatures that community groups presented in support of safe-and-sane fireworks, they said that number alone would have been plenty to qualify the issue for a ballot initiative.

But other council members said they were tired of postponing a decision and thought the June election would fall too close to the next Independence Day.

Almost all of the speakers before the council were from service organizations that favor sales and use of the fireworks. They said their groups will suffer financially.

“Christmas lights cause fires,” said Dick Healey, a Huntington Beach resident associated with a church organization. “Should we outlaw Christmas lights?”

Healey and others had called for a public hearing and ballot initiative, noting that there had been no fireworks related-injuries in Huntington Beach and little property damage in the last two years.

But Huntington Beach Fire Capt. Dennis Groat said that even without major fire losses, “there is a severe impact on our readiness to respond to any incident that may occur.”

As evidence that voters would approve a ban if such a measure were placed on a citywide ballot, Picard told the council that 67% of 11,000 residents responding to a Fire Department survey said they would like to see safe-and-sane fireworks outlawed.

The survey also found that one-fourth of the 11,000 residents said that either they or a family member had been the victim of a fireworks emergency, either through injury or fire.

Results of the survey, which was mailed to all Huntington Beach residential water customers, were presented by Picard at a May 20 City Council meeting.

Several council members questioned the validity of the survey, echoing charges by some residents that the questions were loaded against fireworks and that renters were not polled because they usually don’t pay water bills. The council tabled the issue at that time.