Silencing the sizzle: Citizens, some lawmakers push for changes to Pa.'s fireworks law
Tim Hahn, Erie Times-News May 28, 2021 Jack Bernard knows all too well that fireworks are no longer reserved for special occasions in Erie. The snapping, popping, and banging of pyrotechnics that city residents would expect to hear piercing the tranquility of their neighborhoods around certain holidays, such as the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, are now almost a constant sound in some areas. Bernard, 66, a small business owner, said he counted 45 straight evenings of hearing them from his home in the Burton Park neighborhood in southeast Erie in summer 2020. The racket started again this year in early March, he said. The noise is an annoyance to Bernard and a problem for one of his dogs, which he described as a shy and timid animal. "We basically built a bunker in our lower level for him. Foam on the windows, white-noise machine, music on," he said. After doing a little research, Bernard said he learned that the sound of fireworks affects many more. They include military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, those who are autistic and domestic animals including horses, not to mention homeowners who would simply like to enjoy a quiet evening inside their homes or in their yards, he said. He blames the problem in part on a change in Pennsylvania law that, beginning in late 2017, allowed state residents over age 18 to purchase and use consumer-grade fireworks containing a maximum of 50 milligrams of explosive material, such as firecrackers, Roman candles, and bottle rockets. Bernard, who created a Facebook page to speak out against the constant use of fireworks in an effort that has since grown to a statewide Pennsylvania Communities Against Fireworks Group with its own website, would like lawmakers to repeal the law change. He would also like local officials to have more control over the use of fireworks in their municipalities. He isn't alone. Legislation has been proposed in Harrisburg that would limit when fireworks could be used and, most recently, repeal the act allowing Pennsylvania residents to buy and use consumer-grade fireworks. That legislation has not advanced. "The argument that comes up when you run into opposition is you're trying to ruin their fun. That seems to be the argument, 'you're ruining our fun.' Well, your fun, as I've discovered, is ruining a lot of things for a lot of people," Bernard said. A booming business The law change has been good for fireworks dealers. John Kaliszewski, the owner of Big Woodie's Fireworks, said that although his retail stores in Erie County haven't seen as big a boom in sales as he thought, they have seen a nice increase in business. "Last year, we definitely saw a huge difference because of COVID," he said. "People didn't have things to do."Kaliszewski said most of the people who shop at Big Woodie's fall into two camps. Some are very educated on what they are and are not allowed to do in shooting off fireworks, and some "have no clue what's going on." "Where we try to steer people is to have them read the warning labels and be alert to the safety tips," he said, adding that he does a lot of interviews during the summer to address fireworks safety. The problem with the new law, according to local law enforcement and others, is that it has armed people with bigger and more powerful fireworks that a number of users are setting off with more frequency and at all hours. Fireworks are also being shot off in areas where they shouldn't, and a number of fires and injuries have occurred as a result. In the city of Erie, there really isn't any place where fireworks can be set off, according to Erie Chief Fire Inspector Darren Hart. Under state law, the discharging of fireworks is prohibited within 150 feet of an occupied structure and public or private property without permission from the property owner. Fireworks also cannot be fired within a building or motor vehicle or toward a building or motor vehicle. An Erie city ordinance additionally prohibits the shooting off of fireworks on city property and in city parks, Hart said. "So basically, in the city, there's really no good place," he said. That hasn't stopped people. Erie police and firefighters responded to numerous complaints about fireworks during the spring and summer of 2020. Some fireworks caused fires, including one incident in which a four-stall garage on West 27th street was damaged and another in which a firework burned a hole into the roof of a commercial building on Cranberry Street, according to Hart. Among the fireworks-related complaints that Erie police investigated last summer included an incident in which city refuse workers fled an eastside neighborhood after their garbage truck was struck by fireworks and another in which a man was injured when fireworks were shot at him as he sat in the street. "Every year we get a lot of complaints, but by the time police get there or we investigate, it's already over. We can never really do anything," Hart said. "It's frustrating. We want to try and help people out who worry about their houses, issues with their pets. We want to try and help them, but it's very difficult at times." Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said fireworks complaints get prioritized according to the number and types of all emergency calls coming in, with higher-priority calls given first attention. Fireworks calls get higher priority if, for example, the complaints come in late at night or if fireworks are hitting a residence, he said. "Until the legislature adjusts some of the rules, it's going to be a difficult situation," Spizarny said. "Unless the officer actually sees a person lighting fireworks, we can't charge them. We can give them warnings." Those who are caught can face charges including disorderly conduct or recklessly endangering, depending on the incident, Spizarny said. In the case from last summer in which a man was shot with fireworks in the area of East Sixth and Wallace streets, Erie police charged city resident Jamaal Q. Pacley with felony aggravated assault. Pacley, 27, pleaded guilty in late April to a second-degree misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering in the case and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8, according to online court documents. Taking action State Rep. Pat Harkins, of Erie, D-1st Dist., said he received a number of calls of complaints about fireworks from his constituents during the summer of 2020, when he said a lot of money was being spent by people on fireworks. More calls and emails came in last week from people reminding him that something needs to be done to address the problem, Harkins said. "Put your mindset into what people are experiencing," he said. "I remember last year taking a ride by (Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy). Where the tennis courts are, it looked like the day after the We Love Erie Days fireworks." One piece of proposed legislation that was introduced to address the problem, House Bill 1687 of 2019, sought to adjust the new fireworks law by, among other things, setting times when fireworks could be used and increasing penalties for selling or using fireworks in violation of the rules. The bill was referred to the House Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee in July 2019 and remains there. State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, of Millcreek Township, D-3rd Dist., one of the bill's cosponsors, said the bill has not yet been introduced during the current legislative session and he does not know if it will, given the "substantial issues we had during COVID" with fireworks and with the introduction of other proposed legislation, House Bill 988, that seeks to repeal the changes to the fireworks law from 2017. The sponsors of House Bill 988 wrote in a memorandum issued in January that the changes were passed in part to allow residents to enjoy using more powerful fireworks and as a revenue source for the state. "Unfortunately, too many citizens have chosen to use the fireworks irresponsibly," the memorandum reads.House Bill 988 was referred to the House Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee in March. Bizzarro said he is hoping that the pressure representatives are getting from their constituents over the fireworks issue will be enough to move the bill forward."I'm not just hearing from the people who actually vote for me, but throughout the county," he said. Applying pressure Rescinding the law that has allowed Pennsylvanians to shoot off bigger fireworks has the support of Erie City Council, whose members voted unanimously in July to pass a resolution urging legislators to do so. The action also has the support of Bernard's group, Pennsylvania Communities Against Fireworks. Bernard, who calls himself a "reluctant crusader," said he has addressed the fireworks problem in Erie through letters to the editor, contact with City Council members and members of Mayor Joe Schember's administration, and talks with Erie Bureau of Police officials."I was just trying to get answers, find out what can be done. It became evident it was going to be an ongoing problem, and I was looking for some answers," he said. Bernard said he created the Pennsylvania Communities Against Fireworks Facebook page "more out of frustration than anything" and learned that a number of other people felt the same way he did. He said he then started finding other groups that were forming across Pennsylvania, "and eventually we kind of got those folks together." Bernard's is one of at least two Facebook pages that addresses the problem with fireworks in Erie. Another page is called Fed up with fireworks in Erie Pa. Bernard said his group has been contacting state legislators and asking them to take action on House Bill 988. He said he understands that fireworks might not be considered a priority, but it seems like a growing number of people are getting frustrated. "It goes beyond just a bunch of crabby people complaining about fireworks. The effects are farther reaching than even I realized once I started getting into it," he said. Bernard said he understands there are people who will say controlling the use of fireworks is one more thing the government is telling people to do. "However, it's those folks who are controlling our lives," he said. "Their irresponsibility, carelessness, insensitivity and outright rudeness is causing a lot of people to alter their lifestyles." Contact Tim Hahn at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
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“These fireworks are like grenades,” Chief Spizarny says. “Deadly force was being used against” officers.
Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny issued this statement at 5:23 p.m. on Sunday about the unrest at Perry Square in downtown Erie on late Saturday and early Sunday. “Yesterday at 6 p.m., there was a peaceful protest organized in Perry Square. We too were appalled by the incident in Minneapolis that resulted in the death of George Floyd, and we pray for his family and friends and for the Minneapolis community. https://www.goerie.com/news/20200531/erie-police-mortar-fireworks-molotov-cocktails-used by: Chelsey Withers
Posted: Jul 1, 2020 / 06:55 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 1, 2020 / 09:28 PM EDTAn incident took place on June 29th over on East 6th and Wallace and has been posted on Facebook. This video showed a mentally challenged 30-year-old man being used as a target for fireworks. The social media reaction was less than positive with many people finding the behavior of those shooting the fireworks to be reprehensible. https://www.yourerie.com/news/local-news/victim-of-fireworks-incident-speaks-out/ |
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