3 July 2020
Municipal 4th of July fireworks celebrations are canceled in Pennsylvania because of COVID-19 but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any explosions. Amateurs have been setting them off in neighborhoods and fields ever since the weather turned warm. Complaints are blossoming as fireworks “escape to the wild.”
In 2018 a new Pennsylvania fireworks law permitted Class-C “consumer grade” aerial fireworks like those shown below. This released a firestorm of complaints from residents, local firefighters and police — and complaints this year from New York City.
The city ballpark in my Pittsburgh neighborhood has always been a magnet for amateur fireworks activity so we’ve learned to cope. Some call the police (who can’t do anything if the fireworks are legal). Meanwhile we wait for the noise to go away. The birds wait, too.
Find out how wild birds cope with fireworks in this vintage blog: What Do Birds Think of Fireworks.
(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
p.s. M-80s, cherry bombs and similar explosives are still illegal under federal law.
A neighbor had a roof fire caused by another neighbors fireworks.
A friend stored fireworks in their car. A “rocket” went through the roof and ignited the stored fireworks.
A teenage cousin loaded up a tincan with firecrackers. When the “bomb” went off, he received serious cuts from the shredded can.
A child beat on firecrackers with a rock and received permanent hand damage.
As they said on a TV show: “Be careful out there!”