Fire Officials Shun Briefing on Fireworks

Declaring that “all fireworks are dangerous,” county fire officials refused to appear in public Monday with wholesalers of the so-called “safe and sane” variety.

Representatives of three fireworks distributors said they have been working closely on fireworks safety information with county fire departments for the last five months and were surprised when the department declined an invitation for a joint press conference.

“It has a chilling effect on usage of ‘safe and sane’ products,” said Pam Zanelli, a spokeswoman for fireworks wholesalers. “It gives the appearance that ‘safe and sane’ fireworks are not safe products.”

The wholesalers--Anaheim-based Pyrotronics Corp., Fullerton-based Magic Dragon Fireworks Co. and Freedom Fireworks Co. of Santa Fe Springs--called a press conference Monday to promote fireworks safety. They urged people to buy state-approved, “safe and sane” products and not more dangerous fireworks that can be bought on the black market.

Biggest Distributors

The three firms are among the state’s biggest distributors of “safe and sane” fireworks.

Fire officials said they will hold their own press conference today to discuss fireworks safety.

A committee made up of fireworks industry officials and fire-prevention officers from the eight county cities that allow fireworks worked together to decide on the content of about 650,000 pamphlets and flyers, fireworks distributor Jerry Farley said.

All the cities that allow fireworks, except Garden Grove, distributed the jointly produced pamphlets, Zanelli said. The 39,000 pamphlets produced for Garden Grove had to be routed elsewhere when the Fire Department there decided not to use them.

“We did not ask them to do that (produce the pamphlets) or participate in that process,” Garden Grove Fire Chief Lon Cahill said. “We do that kind of safety program ourselves. We opted to just continue with our program.”

“We’re disappointed,” said Zanelli, who noted that the pamphlets cost the companies $15,000 to produce. “We’ve developed a good working relationship. We’ve had common goals. I don’t know what’s going to happen now.”

In a June letter Farley asked fire officials to take part in a joint press conference, but Richard Jorgensen, president of the Orange County Fire Chief’s Assn., rejected the invitation.

“The majority of the Orange County Fire Chief’s Assn. members feel that all fireworks are dangerous,” Jorgensen stated in his June 17 letter of reply. “We have chosen not to join you at that conference.”

Jorgensen said Monday that after the joint press conference proposal was discussed, a vote was taken by his association, which decided that an appearance would present the wrong message.

Safety Message Prevails

“We still feel that even the fireworks they sell are not safe,” he said.

Fire officials’ presence at the briefing “could be misconstrued that we feel that they are safe,” he said.

Fireworks industry officials said there must be some support within the county fire departments or the five months of joint efforts would not have been possible.

“My feeling is there are members in the fire service that agree (with the fireworks industry), but I don’t think they wanted to stand up to the pressure,” said Farley, of Magic Dragon Fireworks Co.

Cities allowing fireworks are Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Stanton, Santa Ana, Orange and Westminster.

Farley noted that exploding such fireworks as bottle rockets, cherry bombs, Roman candles and firecrackers are illegal statewide.

During Monday’s press conference, industry representatives urged people to look for the special fire marshal’s seal on state-approved fireworks packages.

Farley said the fireworks companies are committed to their product: “We are not convinced that just because the Fire Chief’s Assn. is opposed to fireworks, they (fireworks) are going to fail. We’ll take our message to the public and elected officials. We’re going to preserve our industry.”

Damage From Illegal Product

All fireworks are dangerous if not handled carefully, but the vast majority of severe damage is done by the illegal, non-regulated type, Zanelli said.

Fireworks caused $382,000 in property damage in the county last year and $2 million in damage in 1986, fire officials said.

Cities that have barred the sale as well as the use of fireworks this year include Cypress, Fountain Valley, San Clemente and Villa Park.