Adjustment period : First year of fireworks law seen as learning process
Posted on Thursday, July 3, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/66761/
This is the first Fourth of July in which the Washington County Fire Marshal’s Office is trying to register fireworks stands and tents in the county.
Owners or operators already must receive permits from the Arkansas Fire Marshal’s Office to operate for a two-week period beginning in late June for the Fourth of July, but the permits do not ask for location, so the county Fire Marshal’s Office is often unable to find and inspect stands and tents.
This county ordinance passed by the Quorum Court in April gives the County Fire Marshal’s Office authority to gather information needed to inspect the stands and tents.
The state does not inspect the stands and tents, nor is it required to; the county Fire Marshal’s Office performs inspections as a service to the community. Each stand or tent must pass inspection, according to county ordinance.
“ It’s a public service for fire safety, ” said John Jenkins, county fire marshal.
There is no charge for registering stands and tents, he said, and inspections are free.
The county registration ordinance applies to tents and stands inside the corporate city limits of small towns and in unincorporated areas of the county. It does not apply to Springdale, which has its own regulations. Fayetteville does not allow the sale of fireworks within its city limits.
Jenkins said he is unsure whether the number of stands is higher this year than it was last year.
“ It’s at least running the same, ” he said. “ From what I’ve seen, there’s more stands. ”
There are 17 registered stands and tents, said Laurie Roy, assistant fire marshal for the county. But the Fire Marshal’s Office is compiling more numbers in performing inspections because some of the stands and tents did not register prior to setting up sites.
Because it is a new ordinance, Roy said, there is some leniency given to the owners and operators this summer who did not register with the county prior to setting up their sites.
“ It’s not something we expect to happen overnight, ” she said. “ With anything, you’ve got to give it some growing time. I just think some of them don’t know about it. ”
Violators of the registration ordinance are subject to up to a $ 250 fine, but that probably will not happen as the Fire Marshal’s Office seeks to educate fireworks business operators this year about the law.
Jenkins said he has talked with people from Texas, surrounding towns and different counties who do not know the local laws.
“ It’ll take them another year or two, ” he said.
There was initial resistance to the ordinance, Roy said, but “ I think once people realize that we’re doing it for their benefit, they agree and don’t mind so much. ” She said the operators also realize that the ordinance is not requiring anything that they are not already doing. Registration occurs over the phone to the Fire Marshal’s Office and provides the office with address and contact information, as well as the day the site opens. It is still difficult finding all the sites, Roy acknowledged, especially if they are not located on main arteries. “ Most of the time, our fire departments do a really nice job of letting us know where they’re at, ” she said. Inspections take only a few minutes, she said, and most stands and tents are in compliance with regulations. “ We just need to make sure, ” she said. Jenkins said a few serious violations have been found, including sites with wiring problems or without fire extinguishers.
Site regulations The regulations for fireworks stands and tents are: • The tent must be made of fireproof material • Fire extinguishers need to be mounted and accessible; there have to be two of them fully operable, and at least one must be an airpressurized water extinguisher • The lighting and wiring should be up to Arkansas code with no open connections or spliced wiring • They must have posted signs stating “ fireworks — no smoking” in letters at least 4 inches tall • They must have exits no greater than 35 feet at any given point inside the tent or stand • They must be at least 100 feet from a gas storage facility or home; if the owner or operator lives in the home, they may be 50 feet away • The stand must be at least 300 feet from any bulk gas storage • The inside aisles must be at least 4 feet wide and free of obstructions at all times • All exits must be at least 4 feet wide
Area use regulations There is no ordinance regulating the date or time people may shoot off fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county. There is a state law that prohibits lighting fireworks within 600 feet of a church, hospital, asylum or public school, and within 200 feet of where fireworks are stored or sold. People who live inside incorporated city limits in the county must abide by those cities’ fireworks regulations.
Acceptable dates of fireworks usage inside the Fayetteville city limits are July 1-4. Acceptable fireworks in Fayetteville are any that do not explode or propel into the sky, such as sparklers, fountains and smoke bombs.
Acceptable dates of fireworks usage are the same in Springdale. All fireworks stands and tents must be inspected by the Springdale Fire Marshal’s Office.
Springdale regulations state that no person “ shall discharge at any place, public or private, within the city boundaries, any aerial firework (s ) which travels on a stick, except a permit may be obtained for a public display of fireworks... ”
The Springdale ordinance states that all legal fireworks, except aerial fireworks that travel on a stick, may be discharged on private property between 8 a. m. and 10 p. m. on July 1-4 provided the owner of the property consents to shooting the fireworks. Also, fireworks use is to be supervised by a person who is at least 21 if any participants are younger than 16.
Fireworks usage times and dates in other Washington County cities are:
• Elkins — 8 a. m. to 11 p. m. July 1-5
• Elm Springs — 10 a. m. to midnight July 3-5
• Farmington — 10 a. m. to 10 p. m. July 3 and 5; 10 a. m. to midnight July 4
• Goshen — 7 a. m. to 11 p. m. July 1-5
• Greenland — 6 a. m. to midnight July 1-4
• Johnson — 6-10: 30 p. m. July 3-4
• Lincoln — until 11 p. m. July 4-6
• Prairie Grove — 9 a. m. to 11 p. m. July 4
• Tontitown — no restrictions
• West Fork — 9 a. m. to midnight July 3-4
• Winslow — no restrictions