Staff Writer 

The Fourth of July is two months away, which may be enough time for Farmington Sen. Walter Gooley to spark action legalizing the sale and possession of fireworks in Maine. 

“Maine is one of five states that allows the sale of novelty fireworks, yet you can drive two hours from here and purchase from a much wider selection,” he told members of the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety in Augusta last week. “A majority of Maine’s population is within minutes of New Hampshire, where consumer grade fireworks are legal.”

Per Gooley’s bill, LD-1187, “An Act To Allow the Sale and Use of Consumer Fireworks,” firework vendors would be required to pay a $1,500 licensing fee to the state. Combined with the potential for sales tax revenue, Gooley said allowing residents older than 21 to purchase fireworks could be “a boon” to the Maine economy and ensure the explosives sold are subjected to state safety regulations and standards.

“We will have a higher level of safety by assuring [fireworks] are safe, rather than having consumer- grade fireworks currently purchased out of state brought across the border. Twenty-one states already allow this and the state of Maryland goes even further by requiring the fire marshal to test all new products,” he said. “It’s money for the general fund and an example to show how we can make fireworks as safe as possible for our citizens.”

Last year, Stockton Springs Democratic State Rep. and committee member Veronica Magnan said New Hampshire, which charges a $100 licensing fee for firework vendors, received $40,000 from licensing fees related to the sale of fireworks. Gooley said it is difficult to estimate how much revenue legalizing fireworks could bring to the state, as New Hampshire does not charge sales tax; Maine Fire Marshal John Dean said it would mostly likely be “a fair amount.”

Any increase in revenue is not, however, enough to sway Dean’s opinion that fireworks – including currently permitted hand-held sparklers and morning glories – should be legal. In 2005, Dean estimated 1,800 structure fires and 700 vehicle fires, totaling about $39 million in damage, occurred on July 4 in the country and in Maine there have been 47 fire incidents involving fireworks, resulting in nearly $133,000 in property damage during the past eight years. On average, New Hampshire experiences three times as many firework-related fires and twice as many injuries than Maine, he said.

“All this is with fireworks being illegal,” Dean said. “Any financial gain from this could easily be wiped out with a single fire.”

Dean encouraged the committee to consider reversing the bill, not only rejecting the legalization of fireworks but to ban the sale of sparklers and morning glories – explosives he said were often considered harmless since they are not banned. South Portland Fire Lt. Rob Schwartz said he was also convinced sparklers should be illegal after witnessing an experiment with a fire dummy.

“It was wearing stocking and normal clothing and when they touched it with a sparkler in about nine seconds the whole dummy was involved,” he said. “Sparklers are a big thing because you always see kids running around with them.”

Although Schwartz, Biddeford Fire Chief Joseph Warren and Scarborough Fire Chief Mike Thurlow said they could not recall any serious injuries caused by fireworks during recent Fourth of July holidays, all said they would support an effort to defeat LD-1187 and ban sparklers from the state.

“[Fireworks] are a wonderful thing and I love them” Thurlow said. “It just belongs in the hands of the pros, like anything else.”

For some residents, the question of legalizing fireworks has more to do with consistency than revenue or personal safety. Former Republican congressional candidate John Frary supported Gooley’s bill to legalize fireworks. He said he considered the current policy is one “which seems to have no relationship with policymaking.” One week prior to the public hearing on LD-1187, Frary said he walked into a coffee shop and conducted an informal study by asking who had used a chainsaw. All the men in the coffee shop said they had, some as young as 7 or 8 years old, he said.

“Last year there were 192,000 accidents from chainsaws and 5,000 from fireworks, based on the latest consumer reports,” Frary said. “Forty percent of firework accidents involve children, which is an argument for denying children from parents, not denying fireworks.”

Other supporters of LD-1187 argued the ability to purchase and use fireworks is a personal freedom. Farmington resident William Reed compared the potential for injury from fireworks to those that could be incurred in many other outdoor activities including horseback riding, motor boating, hunting, camping and scuba diving.

“No freedom is without the need for responsible use,” he said. “The notion we can secure Utopia through legislation is an illusion.”

To check the status of LD-1187 visit www.mainelegislature.org and search for “LD-1187.”

Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.