BANG! A Really Bad Idea --Do It Yourself Fireworks - to Raise State Funds
Remember Why We Have a Fireworks Ban in Michigan?
April 21, 2010
By: Dave Rogers
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that people will be hurt and property will be destroyed.
On July 4, 1926, just in the City of Detroit, seven children were killed and 69 house fires set.
By fireworks!
Soon after that blasted Fourth the State Legislature adopted a ban on fireworks use by individuals in Michigan.
Now, everybody apparently has forgotten why we have a ban and, because the state budget is tight, the bright idea of reinstating fireworks sales has arisen from the ashes.
Now, get this, the $2.6 million that would be raised in fees would go to fire departments for fire protection efforts.
Does this make any sense to you?
The House Appropriations Committee last Thursday advanced a bill that would again allow so-called "big bang" fireworks sales to individuals in Michigan.
To get the money for fire protection, the state would allow sale of fireworks that would make the job of fire protection immensely harder.
Nobody so far has as much rung a fire bell in alarm, and fire departments are said to be OK with the plan -- as long as they get their hands on more money.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that people will be hurt and property will be destroyed if this bill is passed. There won't be enough money to fund the fire control education programs that will make a dent in those statistics.
We all know lame-brains who will be blasting off their fingers in wild-eyed amateur attempts to show off. No doubt the cost of medical care alone will far exceed the estimated $2.6 million that would be raised in fees.
Sure, we have budget problems in Michigan; everybody knows that. But do we have to show how dumb we are in trying to solve them with dangerous schemes?
The City of Bay City has a great fireworks display for several days around each Fourth of July. But it is run by professionals under scrutiny by the Bay City Fire Department.
This corner does not see a need to allow every Tom, Dick and Harry to start shooting off fireworks every July.
Even with the ban, it sounds like downtown Beirut even in our rural neighborhood every year. I have no idea where the fireworks are coming from but they are no doubt illegal, and annoying.
Let's keep the explosions to a minimum and use good sense. Legislators should scrap this idea fast and find another source of funds for fire education.
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