Declarations of Independence : Palmdale: Despite the objections of firefighters and others, the city remains one of the few to allow sales and use of fireworks.

Fireworks sales have been banned in every community in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys--with one exception.

In the high desert city of Palmdale, fireworks are not only still embraced as colorful pieces of Americana, but they are also a key source of revenue for more than two dozen nonprofit groups, from the American Legion to the YMCA. City officials estimate that these groups raise more than $200,000 annually though fireworks sales.

This is one bit of Americana that does not please county firefighters, who are contracted to provide services to the city, and officials in neighboring communities. They fear the devices sold in Palmdale could cause injuries or set off a fast-spreading, destructive blaze.

But Palmdale residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of fireworks sales when the City Council put the issue on the ballot in 1992. The vote margin was more than 2 to 1.

Retired firefighter and former Lancaster Mayor Fred Hann charges that council members handed off the decision to voters because they feared serious political fallout from angry nonprofit groups.

“To me, it was irresponsible for them not to take a stand and say, ‘We don’t want fireworks,’ ” said Hann, whose former job included the inspection of Palmdale fireworks booths. “They’re dangerous, they’re out of date, and we don’t need them.”

But Palmdale Councilman Jim Root, who has been among the volunteers selling fireworks in the booths, said the city’s leaders are only following the will of most residents.

“We had a 4-1 vote on the council in favor of retaining fireworks,” he said. “But there was a large enough show of the population who wanted it on the ballot. We chose to put it on the ballot because there was an election coming up anyway.

“We felt the population would be in favor of it, and they were.”

Root, a football coach at Highland High School in Palmdale, sold fireworks for his school’s Quarterback Club. The proceeds pay for athletic equipment and uniforms, he said, allowing more students to join the teams.

A more traditional candy sale might raise $1,000, but a fireworks stand, Root said, can generate well over $10,000 in about a week.

To collect such funds, Palmdale groups sign up volunteers to suffer through the desert heat inside the sheet-metal sales booths provided by fireworks makers.

The sellers include churches, service clubs, counseling organizations and a clinic that provides free dental care to disadvantaged children.

Root believes the benefits of fireworks sales outweigh the hazards.

“Kids can get hurt if they’re not supervised,” he said. “But if you cut off this funding, kids are going to get hurt because they’re not going to be involved in the programs these booths are funding.”

One of the few fireworks critics among the city’s leaders is Councilman David Myers. He believes Palmdale’s nonprofit groups could thrive without fireworks sales, just as they do in cities that ban the products.

He also disputed the notion that opposing fireworks is political suicide. Myers was elected to the council in 1992 despite his opposition to the stands.

Even so, Myers does not plan to lead a movement to oust fireworks from Palmdale.

“I have to respect that people have spoken rather clearly on the issue,” he said. “What I fear more than the fireworks danger is the tyranny of a government that doesn’t listen to its people. That’s inherently more dangerous.”

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At issue are so-called safe and sane fireworks, approved by the state fire marshal, which can be sold and used during the Fourth of July holiday season. These products give off colorful sparks or make whistling sounds, but they do not include loud firecrackers or flying devices, such as bottle rockets.

Palmdale is among 37 cities in Los Angeles County that allow these devices, which are also available in Fillmore, the one city in neighboring Ventura County that allows such sales.

Proponents argue that where safe and sane fireworks are sold, residents are less likely to set off illegal fireworks, which are far more dangerous.

Critics counter that the state fire marshal’s stamp may lead to a false sense of security.

“As far as initiating fires, there’s no such thing as safe and sane fireworks,” said Los Angeles County Fire Battalion Chief Ollie Linson, based in Palmdale. “They’ll start a fire just as easy as illegal fireworks.”

Statistically, the impact of these products is hard to gauge. In 1993, fireworks of all kinds caused $45,000 in property damage during the holiday season in Palmdale, but no damage in Lancaster. One year earlier, the devices caused $10,000 damage in Lancaster and none in Palmdale.