Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com

Columbus, OH – On Wednesday, Dec. 17, the Health and Aging Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives will hear witnesses that oppose Senate Bill 386 which would allow the legal discharge of consumer grade fireworks in Ohio after a decades-long ban.  The Health and Aging Committee is scheduled to meet at 10:30 a.m. in Room 116 of the Ohio Statehouse. A possible vote is scheduled.

Among those testifying are:

  • Betty Montgomery, Chair, Prevent Blindness Board of Directors
  • Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, and Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Lt. Joe Posey, CFSI, Central Ohio Fire Prevention Association
  • Ben Anders, Fire Marshal, City of Upper Arlington
  • Lynda Bowers, Member-Board of Trustees, Ohio Township Association
  • Mike Costello, Fire Department Trustee, Lafayette Township, Medina

State Senator Dave Burke (R-Marysville) introduced the legislation to legalize the use of 1.4G consumer grade fireworks in Ohio during November. Currently, the law requires consumer grade fireworks that are purchased in the state to be transported outside the state within 48 hours of purchase. The law also prohibits the use of consumer grade fireworks within state lines.

The fireworks industry has taken major steps in making fireworks safer for consumers in recent years. The rate of firework related injury has steadily decreased since 1976, from 38.3 injuries per 100,000 pounds of fireworks consumed in 1976 to 6.1 injuries per 100,000 pounds in 2013.

“The data appears to speak for itself. We have safer products today than we did in the past,” Burke said in a November press release. “This legislation allows for a more informed consumer and an ability to increase public safety while engaging in this American tradition.”

The bill would also generate additional resources for the state to educate consumers on proper fireworks safety practices. To encourage the importance of eye safety, firework retailers would also be required to have safety glasses available for a nominal fee or at no cost.

To fund the state’s increased safety efforts, the bill would enact a six percent fireworks safety fee on the sale of consumer grade fireworks in Ohio. Five percent of that fee would be directed towards the State Fire Marshall’s office to help fund firefighter training throughout the state while the remaining one percent would go towards regulation and enforcement of the fireworks industry. Similar fees have been adopted in Indiana, Michigan, and Texas in recent years.

According to fireworks safety advocates, last year an estimated 11,400 people were sent to the emergency room for treatment of firework-related injuries and there were eight associated deaths – a 31 percent increase over the previous year and the highest number of injuries reported in the last 16 years.  This does not include the number of injuries that are treated in settings outside the emergency department of a hospital. Nearly half of the injuries or fires caused by fireworks affect bystanders, including children and others not actively participating in discharging fireworks.

Advocates for child safety, fire prevention, law enforcement and public health are alarmed by how quickly this bill has moved through the General Assembly. Since the bill’s introduction just a few weeks ago, hundreds of Ohioans have registered their opposition to legislators via email, letter, phone calls and witness testimony in the Senate and House of Representatives.  In contrast, the only public supporters of this bill have been members of the fireworks and pyrotechnic industry.

The Ohio Fireworks Safety Coalition is composed of over 20 statewide and regional organizations representing public health and safety organizations and businesses dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of backyard fireworks.