RICHARD ANDERSON
SOUTHWICK – While everyone hopes to have a star-spangled Fourth of July, Fire Chief Richard Anderson said he is hoping for a safe Independence Day.
“People need to be reminded it’s very unsafe,” said Anderson of setting off fireworks, firecrackers, and even sparklers. “They are illegal in Massachusetts, and they’re illegal for a reason.”
Anderson said in the past 10 years in Massachusetts alone there were 803 major fire and explosive incidents from illegal fireworks, including one death.
“Also in the last 10 years 47 people were treated for severe burns from illegal fireworks,” said Anderson. “Seventy percent of those were under age 25 and are scarred for life. Thirty percent were children under age 10.”
Anderson said illegal fireworks are a true public safety concern.
“It’s a tough situation here because every state around us can sell them, but it’s illegal here,” he said. “It’s illegal to store them, transport them, and display them.”
Westfield Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Egloff, the department’s fire prevention officer, said that every year people bring illegal fireworks into Massachusetts from out of state and from mail-order purchases and stressed that, no matter where they were purchased, all fireworks are illegal in the Commonwealth.
Egloff said that the “safe and sane” way to enjoy fireworks is to leave them to professionals.
In order for the town to have a fireworks display, numerous steps must be taken. First, Anderson said he has to approve a permit, then an application is sent to the state.
“I have to tour the area and the state comes to inspect,” said Anderson. “And I have to guard the fireworks once they’re delivered and do a site inspection before they are set off. It’s quite an involved process – it’s illegal for a reason.”
Westfield’s fireworks are set for July 6 at Stanley Park, while Southwick’s display is July 19 during the Fireman’s Carnival.
