COUNTYWIDE : Parents Warned of Fireworks Dangers

School’s out, summer’s here and the Fourth of July is just around the corner. And although fireworks can’t be sold legally for another week, the plywood and chicken wire stands that peddle flashing wheels, fountains and other popular items have already begun to pop up along the roadside.

Today, just two days after a youngster playing with firecrackers started a 125-acre brush fire in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County fire officials warned parents about the dangers of fireworks and encouraged them to supervise their children.

Although no one was injured and no structures were burned in Wednesday’s fire, the blaze came dangerously close to nearby homes and held the potential to cause serious damage, fire officials said.

The raging fire was apparently started by a young boy throwing firecrackers in an area of rugged terrain.

“More and more cities are banning these devices to protect their citizens and the city’s property,” said Orange County Fire Capt. Hank Raymond, one of 100 firefighters who responded to the fire. “With the way winds are at this time of the year and the drought we’ve had for the last four years, it is really too dangerous to deal with any type of explosive.”

Raymond believes that a ban on the sale of fireworks in all but a handful of Orange County cities has cut down significantly on fireworks-related injuries. Last year, of the seven injuries reported to Orange County fire officials, six occurred in cities where the sale of firecrackers is permitted.

Only seven cities--Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Santa Ana and Westminster--allow the sale of so-called “safe and sane” fireworks, a term used by the state fire marshal to describe fireworks that cannot fly into the air.

After this year, Westminster, which recently joined the growing ranks of cities that have outlawed fireworks, will no longer allow the sale of the devices. State law bans all other fireworks, such as bottle rockets, firecrackers or Roman candles.

Still, Raymond and other fire authorities believe that the law is not strong enough and that all fireworks should be banned.

“There is nothing safe or sane about explosives,” Raymond said. “They can still have the same effect and just as many people get injured using those as the illegal ones.”

Newport Beach Fire Deputy Jim Marshall said his department is passing out bulletins to schools, local organizations, social groups and other concerned groups about the dangers of fireworks.

“I see no purpose whatsoever that these devices serve, except to destroy somebody’s home and blow somebody’s fingers off,” Marshall said. “I’ve seen too many people lose their homes unnecessarily because of these devices.”

Yet not all authorities believe a fireworks ban would solve the problem. “I really don’t think it has anything to do with the ban,” said Tom Thompson, a Fullerton fire inspector. “People will use them regardless.”

Fireworks distributors blame injuries and fires on illegal fireworks such as Roman candles, cherry bombs and firecrackers.

“There is a definite and severe illegal fireworks problem,” said Tom Peters, a spokesman for American West, a fireworks distributor in Santa Ana. “Safe and sane fireworks are not the problem.”