Fireworks-Ban Talks Due Tonight in Westminster

The Westminster City Council tonight will consider outlawing the sale of so-called “safe and sane” fireworks, as have all but a few of Orange County’s 28 cities.

“I think the time has come for a ban,” Councilwoman Lyn Gillespie said Monday. “There are too many fires and injuries that result from fireworks.”

Officials say the local push to ban fireworks was spurred in part by an Orange County Grand Jury report in June. In cities where sales have been illegal, the jury found a “significant reduction in property loss and personal injury.”

3-2 Issue

Mayor Charles V. Smith and Councilwoman Anita Huseth have signaled that they may join Gillespie in imposing a ban. But two other council members want to keep sales legal or put the question to voters in a referendum.

“All the calls I have received are to keep the status quo, to keep the ‘safe and sane’ fireworks,” Councilwoman Joy L. Neugebauer said.

“Because a few people are not responsible, I don’t see why everyone should be deprived of this form of celebration on our country’s most patriotic holiday,” said Neugebauer, who heads Westminster’s Bicentennial Committee.

Mayor Pro Tem Frank Fry Jr. said: “I’d like the people to vote on it. They’re the ones who are going to be impinged by the law.”

In addition to Westminster, “safe and sane” fireworks can be legally sold in Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange and Santa Ana. Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha said that Santa Ana recently decided against a ban, but that Fullerton may soon consider the issue.

Fund-Raising Aspect

Cities that consider such a ban usually face strong opposition from not only the fireworks industry, but also from nonprofit civic groups that rely on sales for fund-raising.

“It is a difficult decision because many charities in the city rely on firework sales,” Gillespie said. She noted that she lobbied against the idea of a fireworks ban before last July 4th because that would have given local civic groups no time to make other fund-raising plans.

Huseth said: “I am leaning toward banning them . . . I prefer to do fund-raising other ways.”

Smith said he is “very strongly in favor of a ban” but acknowledged that the council vote could be close. He said he would like to see a professional fireworks display at Westminster High School Stadium that would allow various service clubs and charities to participate and use the event to raise funds.

Fire Chief D’Wayne D. Scott said that his department favors a ban because many people use the “sane and safe” fireworks in an “exceedingly careless and illegal manner.”

According to the Orange County Fire Department, there have been approximately 30 fireworks-related injuries that have required treatment in Orange County Hospitals this year.

3 Children Injured

During the last Fourth of July holiday, Scott said, three children were treated at Westminster Humana Hospital for fireworks burns on their hands and faces. One boy reportedly almost lost his sight.

Scott said a Westminster Fire Department study found that the number of fireworks-related injuries and fires were much lower in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach--where sales are banned--than in Santa Ana, Orange and Garden Grove, where sales are permitted.

The fireworks industry has contended that wherever “safe and sane” items are banned, illegal fireworks are used instead. But county Fire Department statistics indicate that bans have worked to decrease the use of illegal fireworks.