Monterey Park : Fireworks Ban Considered

After fires sparked by July 4 fireworks caused an estimated $98,500 in property damage and injured one firefighter, the City Council agreed Monday to consider a ban on the legal fireworks believed largely responsible.

“There were 12 fires (on July 4) due to fireworks,” Fire Chief Allen E. McComb said. “Only one was due to illegal fireworks.”

Monterey Park allows state-approved “safe and sane” fireworks--those that don’t explode or shoot into the air--on Independence Day, and bans all other kinds. But enforcing the law is difficult because fire officials responding to a complaint cannot easily distinguish the legal from the illegal varieties, Battalion Chief Kurt Latipow said.