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Fireworks companies hire big gunsBy JULIE HAUSERMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published July 1, 1998 Curtis and other fireworks representatives tried to persuade the state to loosen the fireworks ban. But Gov. Lawton Chiles held firm, saying public safety has to come before profit. The fireworks companies lost, but it wasn't for lack of firepower. Curtis, who retired from the forestry division two years ago, was among several high-impact consultants and lawyers whom fireworks companies retained in hopes of reviving their lost business. There was James Harold Thompson, a former Florida House speaker, representing two fireworks companies. And there was Mitch Ceasar, the new chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, dialing in on a conference call as a lawyer for Neptune Fireworks. The fireworks representatives met with more than a dozen state officials, many of them weary from weeks of overseeing the battle against wildfires. Under the ban, only fireworks displays authorized by local officials are allowed. Private fireworks and sparklers -- as well as their sale to individuals -- are off limits. The industry argued that the state set up the ban without the science to make its case, and that, in some counties, fireworks could be sold and used without much risk. "'We're saying: 'Let us sell and use fireworks in areas where we know there's not going to be a problem with drought,' " said Thompson. But Jim Brenner, a fire behavior analyst with the state forestry division, said Florida already has all the risk it can handle. "They brought in their own experts who said the problem isn't nearly as severe as the Division of Forestry would lead people to believe," Brenner said. "My response to them was: Wow! Then why are we having all these fires? I mean, with the exception of the very, very southern tip of the state, everybody's in trouble now." Sharon Hunnewell, president of Galaxy Fireworks in Tampa, said the state ban is unjustified. "We are getting rain," she said. "'We can sympathize with North Florida. But to make every county in this state suffer because of what's going on in those counties is ridiculous." In a letter, the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association urged Chiles to stand firm on the ban. "You talk to wildland firefighters who have been in this business a long time, and they'll tell you that the Fourth of July is a guaranteed all-nighter," said Brenner, of the forestry division. Curtis, who started working for the forestry division in 1988 and retired in 1996, wouldn't comment on the meeting or his work with American Promotions from Alabama, a sparkler manufacturer.
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ALLAHASSEE -- Just two years ago, Don Curtis was a high commander in the state's firefighting army, the No. 2 at the Florida Division of Forestry. But Tuesday, Curtis shocked his former colleagues by showing up in the capital as a hired gun for an Alabama fireworks company.
