Last month, the Carson City Council passed Ordinance Number 25-2507, to prohibit the sale, use and discharge of all fireworks within city limits, except for sanctioned public displays. This proposal followed a unanimous recommendation from the Public Safety Commission, reflecting growing concerns over safety and the misuse of fireworks.
More than a hundred community members attended the March 18 city council meeting in opposition to the proposed ban on all fireworks in the City of Carson, including the safe and sane fireworks sold by TNT fireworks which many local nonprofit organizations sell as part of their fundraisers.
One public commenter, Virgil Portofino, said he stood before the council to urge it to vote against the ban of safe and sane fireworks, a brand of fireworks that do not explode, shoot into the air, or move erratically. They typically include fountains, sparklers, smoke bombs, ground spinners and snappers. These fireworks are legal in many areas with restrictions and are considered safer alternatives to aerial and explosive fireworks. But the risk of fire is not zero. Portofino noted that nonprofit organizations rely on fireworks sales to provide scholarships, senior citizen programs and many more opportunities.
“Banning safe and sane fireworks would significantly impact our ability to continue this important work,” he said. “The needs of the community will be around much longer than most of you, for whatever reasons. We’ll be sitting on those chairs. We need our nonprofits to continue to sustain those needs from the stadium of safe and sane fireworks.”
Portofino concluded his remarks by saying this decision should be left to the residents of the City of Carson. Please leave this decision to the residents of this important matter.
A Carson pastor recounted helping a young man with Parkinson’s become a Christian through the sale of fireworks. He noted that his church has been able to feed over 800 families each week with the finances his church receives from fireworks.
Some commenters argued that the responsibility for the devastation caused by the Palisades and Eaton fire was being unfairly placed on safe and sane fireworks while dismissing the potential for fires to still be caused by safe and sane fireworks.
Arleen Rojas read from the LA Fire Department on the causes of the Edison fire and noted that “sparks created the disaster that we have witnessed.”
Resident and Planning Commission President Diane Thomas praised the council majority for standing strong by their vote to ban fireworks and praised Councilwoman Rojas in particular for relaying the facts.
“Statistics don’t lie,” Thomas noted. “We can be emotional all we want but it only takes a spark.”
Thomas suggested that the city council start a committee to help nonprofits learn how to raise other funds to replace what they would lose.
Carson’s public safety commissioner and retired fire captain, Mike Wilson, brought his work experience and hard statistics to the debate saying he supports the ban on the sale and usage of all fireworks.
“No fireworks, legal or otherwise, are intrinsically safe,” Wilson said. “Your level of danger varies with the user and conditions a few suggestions.”
All personal use for fireworks is banned in all unincorporated areas of LA County and an increasing number of municipalities.
Wilson, citing a law enforcement report put together by the Carson and Lomita sheriff’s stations, found that in cities where all fireworks were illegal, 9-1-1, EMS, fire calls and injuries were significantly lower than in cities where safe and sane fireworks were the only fireworks left.
“We also found the cities where fireworks were legal, attracted illegal vendors and users as well as Illegal users and vendors were and are hiding in plain sight,” Wilson said. “At block parties … backyards … on our streets.”
Wilson noted that the Carson and Lomita sheriff stations compared the 2023, July 4 fire calls statistics and found that Lomita, where fireworks are already illegal, had only five illegal firework calls. Carson had 145 illegal fireworks calls in that same year.
“Similar patterns and statistics are reflected in LA County and I am pleased that Carson is banning the sale and usage of all fireworks,” Wilson said.
Councilman Jim Dear argued for a more politically expedient solution by allowing Carson residents to decide whether to ban fireworks in their entirety or not. Councilman Hilton went a step further, calling for the adoption of AB1403 as city policy until the Carson residents have had a chance to weigh in on the ban at the ballot box. Dear cast his support to the amended motion.
California’s AB 1403 allows authorities to declare a local emergency due to fire hazards caused by fireworks. This gives local governments more power to restrict or ban fireworks when conditions (like extreme heat or drought) make them especially dangerous.
Former Long Beach City Councilwoman Stacy Mungo, citing her background in law enforcement in Carson, expressed support for a measure in alignment with AB 1403 and adopting a drone program that tracks the bad actors using unpermitted or illegal fireworks. Taking such a step wouldn’t be unusual for the City of Carson. The city council has already completed the installation. The surveillance cameras are strategically placed throughout key areas of the city, including high-traffic zones, parks, transportation hubs and other public spaces.
Mungo said the $40,000 to $50,000 in additional revenue the city would get from the continued sale of the safe and sane fireworks could be used to implement the strict drone program.
“I’ve already been in touch with Motorola and cities that adopting three would be eligible to participate,” Mungo pitched.
Throughout the proceedings, the biggest participant in the debate but weren’t physically present was the Alabama-based TNT Fireworks who’d stand to lose the most if more municipalities ban all fireworks outright.
TNT Fireworks partners with numerous schools, churches and civic groups nationwide to raise funds by selling fireworks, especially during the 4th of July and New Year’s seasons. The company doesn’t appear to fund any sort of lobbying effort. But the turnout of supporters of Safe and Sane fireworks on behalf of one the largest fireworks manufacturers spoke volumes about TNT Fireworks ability to influence and protect its products.