Fireworks Sales Light a Fuse Under Public Safety Officers, Fund-Raisers

At the Block at Orange, county fire officials cordoned off parking spaces with yellow caution tape. Then they blew up three watermelons.

The largest melon, at 10 pounds, spewed bits of fruit 50 feet. It was intended as a lesson in fireworks safety.

In Buena Park, parents of shortstops, cheerleaders and linebackers packed their legal fireworks into parking lot booths and hoped for exploding sales and a lesson in fund-raising.

In their rows of sparklers and snap caps, they see money for uniforms, field repairs and cheer competitions. And they see tradition: “The Fourth of July is fireworks in the sky,” said Little League mother Holly Cundiff.

And so goes one of Orange County’s annual debates, pitting public safety officials against soccer moms.

On one side are the burn statistics, tear-jerking stories and public safety demonstrations such as the one staged Tuesday by the Orange County Fire Authority. It was meant to coincide with Tuesday’s opening of booths manned by nonprofit groups that rely on the thousands of dollars from fireworks sales, the other side in the debate.

This year’s conflict is illustrated by cities that are reconsidering their fireworks policies. Huntington Beach extinguished a plan for a public pyrotechnic show near the ocean, in part because of worries about rowdy crowds and illegal fireworks.

More lively is the debate in Buena Park, one of only five cities in Orange County that allow “safe and sane” fireworks, a classification given by the state fire marshal to those that don’t explode or fly through the air. Nonprofit groups in Buena Park -- along with Stanton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa -- rent booth space from retailers and use the proceeds from fireworks sales to pay the year’s bills.

But last Fourth of July, Xavier Morales, 9, was fatally wounded by a .22-caliber bullet fired into the air during a raucous, fireworks-filled celebration in Buena Park. The police chief said the noise may have drowned the sound of the shot and called for a ban on fireworks sales.

The City Council in April did just that. But when 5,556 residents signed a petition protesting the move, the ban was suspended. The city may reconsider the issue this year.

Melissa Byrd signed the petition protesting the fireworks-sale ban. As the cheerleading coordinator for the Buena Park Eagles, a youth football program, she was aghast that the council could take away her biggest fund-raiser.

“I can’t think of any other way for youth groups to survive,” said Byrd, 39. “What are we going to do if we don’t have football teams for kids to play on? How do we keep them off the streets?”

Carwashes and bake sales aren’t enough, she said. Those supplement the fireworks sales, which pay for the uniforms, shoes, warmup suits and more for more than 60 girls.

Gail Kato, the president of the city’s American Little League, is counting on the Fourth of July fireworks sales to generate nearly $6,000 to pay for new sod and sprinklers for their fields.

Last year, the league’s booth generated less than $4,000. The take was disappointing enough for the league to switch locations, said Kato, a 45-year-old mother.

At Kato’s booth, Cundiff, 37, blamed inattentive parents for fireworks accidents. She said she taught her 11-year-old son, a pitcher and shortstop, the right way to use fountains and sparklers.

In nearby Orange, county Fire Capt. Stephen Miller countered that there is no right way to play with fireworks. “Yeah, I grew up with fireworks,” he said. “Yeah, I miss it. But it got out of control.”

Miller set up the parking lot demonstration. The media event was intended to spark discussion of fire safety -- especially after the grass-roots movement in Buena Park to save Fourth of July fireworks sales.

“It would be nice to take the groups to a burn center,” Miller said, “and see the children, and see if that’s worth $5,000.”

Miller cited the case of Fernando Paz, a 16-year-old whose forehead was burned in a fireworks accident Monday. Out of boredom, the Garden Grove boy said, he had fashioned a firecracker from legal fireworks and a 2-liter soda bottle.

Fernando rested Tuesday at UCI Medical Center in Orange. He and his father, Mario, saw the fireworks debate in decidedly personal terms.

Mario Paz bought fireworks Saturday in Torrance. Fernando used the powder from a Piccolo Pete fountain to burst the plastic bottle.

The family won’t have fireworks this Fourth of July. But Mario Paz doesn’t blame the sellers. Fernando had blown up bottles before. “His mom told him to stop, and he didn’t listen.”