The ruse before the fuse

[Times photos: Lara Cerri]

By LANE DeGREGORY
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 1, 2002

If it's against Florida law to shoot off fireworks, then why are the stands shooting up across the state?

Cluster Bombs and Urban Combat packages. Premier Artillery Shells and Monster Blasts. M-1000s, Roman candles and finger-sized sticks of dynamite, 400 for $10.

Since school let out, Scott Sanders has been saving for these. He's been mowing yards, packing boxes, helping his mom so he can earn extra cash for explosives. He's 10 years old.

He's shopping for fireworks.

In a red-and-white-striped tent in St. Petersburg, off U.S. 19, near 26th Ave. S, Scott and his mom, Sandi, are eyeing bottle rockets taller than he is, trying to decide between stuff that blows up and stuff that spews cool colors. Scott wants an assorted package called "the Boss," which includes Tiger-Tail explosives and four sets of 3-D glasses and sells for $276.95. He settles for flying fireballs, demolition shells and rockets that shoot little plastic men tied to parachutes.

"That will be $28.30," the cashier says. Scott digs into the pocket of his shorts.

"Actually, you'll have to buy them," the cashier tells Sandi. The cashier slides a printed form across the counter top. "And you have to sign this."

Karen Cuatt, back right, and her son, Chris, 13, bag fireworks for Robert Groover, left front, at Big D Fireworks on U.S. 19 as his mother signs a waiver. The waiver says people purchasing fireworks have read Section 791.04 of the Florida statutes.

Sandi Sanders whips a pen from her purse. Like everyone else, she signs the form without really reading it.

"It says you're taking on your own responsibilities when you buy fireworks," she says when asked what she just signed. "That you know the safety precautions. And there's something about you're not allowed to use fireworks over a certain size, a certain class of fireworks, or something . . . ."

Actually, you're not allowed to shoot off fireworks in Florida. At all.

It's against state law to ignite anything that flies, blows up or leaves the ground, unless you're a permit-carrying pyrotechnics professional, work in a mine or on a railroad, or own a large farm or a fish hatchery. Other than that, you can't fire a flaming thing.

So why are roadside stands across the state selling stuff strong enough to blow a hole in a roof or blow off a hand? At dozens of tents around the Tampa Bay area, you can buy Mystery Geysers, TNT 52 Breaks and rolls of 16,000 red firecrackers that explode continuously for 25 minutes. As long as you're 18, you can buy Clustering Bees, Mad Dog Maximum Blast Super Louds and Firehawks with warnings such as, "This rocket travels at high speeds and can travel long distances."

You can have it all, as long as you sign the form. Of course, everyone signs.

The second sentence on the form says: "I have reviewed Section 791.04 of Chapter 791 Florida Statutes and my purchase and use of the fireworks falls within the expectations specified therein."

Few buyers really review the statutes. No one knows what expectations their purchases are supposed to be falling within. The law is supposed to be displayed somewhere near the tent's entrance. But even the stand owners don't know what it says.

And when you try to ask how anyone can buy this stuff when it's supposed to be illegal; when you try to find out why no one seems to get charged with fireworks offenses; when you need an explanation of that statute, you get nowhere. County officials refer you to Florida officials, who send you to federal agencies. Fire marshals say the police are enforcing the law, and police say it's up to the fire marshals. Then agricultural experts get involved and a lobbyist starts laughing.

And the trail gets as twisted as those ashen snakes that smear sooty streaks across your driveway.

The Cuatts, Karen, left, and Chris, wait during a lull in customers last week. Cuatt and her husband own Big D Fireworks and have seven stands in St. Petersburg and 25 in Tampa. “He’s my prime salesman,” Cuatt says of her son. “He knows what everything does in there.”

This July Fourth, fireworks sales should set records.

Since Sept. 11, national spirit has soared like TNT Interceptors.

The American Pyrotechnics Association predicts a $50-million increase in fireworks sales this year, to $700-million. Revenue from sales in the United States has doubled in the past 10 years.

The amount of fireworks shot off increased from 67-million pounds to 162-million pounds during the same decade. "Most of that's from consumer purchases, not professional displays," says Julie Heckman, executive director of the national fireworks trade group.

Across the Tampa Bay area, fireworks stands have shot up everywhere.

Last year at this time, two tents sat along 34th Street between Central Ave. and 54th Ave. S. Now, six stands line that stretch of road. And with all the recent rain, folks aren't as worried about dry conditions as they have been during past Julys.

Most people don't buy fireworks until July 3 or 4. But Karen Cuatt says she's already seen an increase in sales. She and her husband own Big D Fireworks and have seven stands in St. Petersburg and 25 in Tampa. She's worked at the tent on U.S. 19 and 58th Ave. N for five years.

"Oh, we've got lots of new stuff for this summer. And it's selling great so far," she says. A week before Independence Day, one of her St. Petersburg tents had brought in more than $4,000. "That's unheard of," she says. "We're not even supposed to be busy yet."

She shows off the new Cave Buster artillery shells, 12 shots for $22. A silver Air Force jet that shoots flaming balls and comes with a launcher. A Pride of America Special Aerial Display that packs 500 grams of pyrotechnic power, the maximum allowable charge under federal Department of Transportation standards.

She's got explosives called Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle, and packages with the Statue of Liberty printed on top and a cardboard sign that says: "Make a Patriot of Yourself! Check out our New Items!"

Most of the stuff is illegal to shoot off in Florida.

But somehow, by signing that piece of paper, it's all okay. Sort of . . . .

"We don't regulate fireworks at all. We haven't issued any citations of that sort in at least two years," St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman George Kajtsa says.

"Technically, it's a misdemeanor. The maximum penalty would be up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.

"But we'd never arrest anyone for that. It would be more like a ticket, and we might confiscate the fireworks. But there's not much more we can do unless an officer comes right up on the person while they're actually shooting the fireworks. Other than that, as long as they sign that paper, the law is very difficult to enforce."

The waiver says people purchasing fireworks have read Section 791.04 of the Florida statutes. If they had done so, and if they had then looked a couple of paragraphs higher, they would have seen these words: "it is unlawful for any person . . to offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, or use or explode any fireworks."

But that part of the statute is never taped beside the cash register.

Only the exemptions are: It's okay to sell fireworks, the law says, to "railroads or other transportation agencies for signal purposes or illumination or when used in quarrying or for blasting or other industrial use." It's okay to sell fireworks "to be used solely and exclusively in frightening birds from agricultural works and fish hatcheries." Those sorts of uses will be regulated by the Department of Agriculture, the statute says.

"Of course, you never see anyone blasting mines or farming fish or having to blow up birds around here," St. Petersburg fire Marshal Jim Large says. "You know full well they're not going to use it for that. But you can't enforce that law until they use it for something else. It's one of the more flagrant loopholes I've seen in a law."

Fire officials have tried to get the fireworks statutes changed, Large says. "But it boils down basically to an American issue: Fireworks have been around forever. You hate to be the one to squelch patriotism," he says. "Especially now."

Plus, the fireworks industry is mighty.

"The state allows all these things to be sold. So what can we do?" Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor says. Like St. Petersburg, his city hasn't issued a fireworks-related citation in years. Nor has the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Or Tampa police.

City and county fire marshals have to inspect the tents selling fireworks, make sure the aisles are wide enough and the exits are clearly marked. But they can't do anything about the explosives stacked head-high.

"They're licensed to sell this stuff," says Nina Bottcher, spokeswoman for the state fire marshal's office. "And quite frankly, I'm not sure there's been much interest lately in trying to change that law."

Ask Ann Crampton about Florida's fireworks laws and she'll say, "Oh, you all are one of the safe states." She's the spokeswoman for the National Council on Fireworks Safety, a regulatory agency in Washington, D.C. She explains that Florida allows only sparklers and doesn't permit more than 100 grams of pyrotechnic components in any of them.

Which is right, according to the letter of the law.

Then tell her you just stopped at a roadside stand in St. Petersburg and bought flaming fireballs and two launchers packing 500 grams of power. And that you had to sign a waiver. And that you later looked up the law and learned about the railroad lights and the fish hatcheries.

And she'll say: "I don't understand." And there will be a long silence before she continues. "How can you use a cone or a fountain or a Roman candle in a fish hatchery?

"I really wasn't aware of that law," she'll say.

"Maybe you should call the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission."

So you try that agency, also in the nation's capital. And you reach Yolanda Fultz Morris, who sends you the federal fireworks guidelines. And you read 16 CFR 1500.17, Subsection 3. And it says:

"Fireworks devices distributed to farmers, ranchers . . . must be distributed in response to a written application describing the problem that requires their use and there must be no other available means of control."

Morris says, "If there is a legitimate agricultural purpose for using fireworks, they must be participating in a government-sanctioned program. No one should be selling fireworks to the public in Florida because they're illegal." Then Ms. Morris says you really ought to ring Florida's agriculture office.

So you call the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and you talk to Terence McElroy, who sends you Chapter 5A-3.001 of his agency's rule book. It says anyone who wants to use fireworks on farms or at fish hatcheries has to file a statement with the sheriff saying the "firecrackers will be used solely and exclusively" for frightening birds. And you already know, from your initial conversations with sheriffs' offices, that few folks (if any) around the Tampa Bay area have filed such statements.

So you call back Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, and ask her: What percentage of fireworks sold nationally are used to scare birds?

She laughs. There's a long pause. "What?" she asks. "I don't think I heard you right."

So you tell her about Florida's loopy law, all the phone calls, the sheriffs, the fire marshals, the agricultural officials and the exploding artillery shells. And she keeps laughing. And you tell her you really need some sort of answer.

So finally she says, "We don't represent anyone that manufactures any type of mining or bird control devices. Anyway, that kind of explosive wouldn't be marketed as fireworks. It would have to be labeled as a pest control device." She giggles again.

"Florida," she says. You can almost hear her shaking her head. "You're the only state I know of that could get around fireworks restrictions by saying they're for pest control."

Back inside the striped tent near 26th Avenue S, Scott Sanders picks up his bags of demolition shells and party fountains. His mom puts away her pen. They head out of the fireworks stand.

"I love coming in and seeing them all lined up like that. It's better than going to the toy store," Scott says, running into the parking lot. "I just wish we could've gotten more."

Sandi Sanders nods sympathetically. There's still time left before July Fourth, still plenty of chores to do. The red-and-white tent will be open until midnight -- even on the holiday.

"Plus you've already got some at home," she reminds him.

Oh, yeah! He forgot about that stash. He already has a closet full of bottle rockets he bought before school let out . . . .

WHAT FLORIDA LAW SAYS

Statute 791.02: "It is unlawful for any person, firm, copartnership, or corporation to offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, or use or explode any fireworks."

Statute 791.04: "Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to . . . prohibit the use of fireworks by railroads or other transportation agencies for signal purposes or illumination or when used in quarrying or for blasting or other industrial use."

Statute 791.07: "Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit importation, purchase, sale, or use of fireworks used or to be used solely and exclusively in the frightening of birds from agricultural works and fish hatcheries; and such use shall be governed entirely by the rules prescribed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services."

FIREWORKS FACTS

The National Council on Fireworks Safety designates Florida as a "Safe and Sane" state where only sparklers can be legally used. But the designation is misleading. The law isn't enforced.

Eight states, including Georgia, ban fireworks, including sparklers.

The National Fire Protection Association wants fireworks outlawed for everyone except permitted professionals.

In 2000, fireworks-related injuries reported to emergency rooms jumped 29 percent. Fireworks cause an average of 20,000 fires across the United States each year.

In Pinellas County, 25 to 50 people are hurt by fireworks every Independence Day. Most of the injured aren't lighting the fuses. They're watching -- often children.

Sources: the National Fire Prevention Association and the Pinellas County Fire Department.

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