Light up July 4th tradition

STEVE SMITH

During the 20 years I have lived in Costa Mesa, our family has

enjoyed Fourth of July fireworks in a number of locations. One year,

we were in Palm Springs and saw a good show in a very large, very

nice park. We had such a good time that we went back the following

year.

But that next year wasn’t the same. It was a little rowdier than

before, so the next year we reached new heights in an effort to find

a good fireworks show. The new heights meant climbing to the roof of

my brother- in-law’s business in Orange. It was a good vantage point,

and we went back up the following year, too.

The next year proved to be too difficult for my mother-in-law to

navigate the ladder to the roof, so we went back to the drawing

board.

At my brother-in-law’s house on a hill in Mission Viejo, we could

see fireworks but because they were so far away, we could not hear

them. That was our only year there.

Likewise, we’ve only seen the show at the Newport Dunes once.

After all of our experimenting, we realized that the best

fireworks show on the Fourth of July is the one we have in front of

our house with our neighbors. Not only are the fireworks fun, but we

get to renew our acquaintances with people we do not exchange more

than a nod with the rest of the year.

I like the so-called “safe and sane” fireworks. I like the fact

that Costa Mesa still allows them, and I like the fact that when we

buy them, we’re usually contributing to some good cause.

At the Costa Mesa City Council meeting on May 17, a group of

residents presented a petition to stop the sale and discharge of

fireworks within the city limits. This is not the first such request,

nor will it be the last.

As usual, the petitioners charged that fireworks -- even the legal

ones -- pose a safety hazard, “threaten animals and lead to trash and

debris.” What they want is no more fireworks except for a

professional show at the Orange County Fairgrounds or another

professional venue.

It was acknowledged that the city has had problems with people

igniting illegal fireworks (the kind that leave the ground) and with

firing off legal ones when they are not allowed.

The program the city has established -- that is, allowing only

safe and sane fireworks to be ignited from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on July

4 -- is a good one. It is designed to prevent the types of accidents

the petitioners are worried about.

But, as with so many other privileges, people are abusing the

program.

“As a fire professional, any time we engage in striking a match or

lighting a fuse we are increasing the potential of a fire,” Costa

Mesa Fire Chief James Ellis told me. “We have to exercise extreme

caution, particularly in the summer, when it is dry.”

That would seem to me to be plain common sense. But there are

enough people who believe they are outside the law who may be

responsible for ruining a good thing. Costa Mesa is, after all, only

one of five cities left in the county that allows safe and sane

fireworks.

You’ve seen samples of their work before. While the rest of us are

doing the safe and sane thing, they’re shooting off bottle rockets,

which could land anywhere, including someone’s roof.

But let’s be clear on an important point. Banning fireworks will

no sooner stop the illegal ones from being ignited on the days around

July 4 than banning alcohol will stop drinking or banning cigarettes

will stop them from being smoked.

What we have is not a fireworks issue but a judgment issue, the

result being that citizens are making conscious decisions to break an

important safety law.

And just how bad is the Fourth for the Fire Department?

“The calls increase exponentially [on the Fourth],” Ellis said,

“with people reporting either illegal fireworks being used or the

safe and sane ones being used outside of the city’s guidelines.”

The number of actual incidents (each call to the department is

called an ‘incident’) has stayed the same over the past few years.

So, what is a good citizen to do? “There must increased adult

supervision, a water bucket, and people must be cognizant of where

they are setting fireworks off,” said Ellis.

I’ll add that they should not tolerate their neighbor’s use of

illegal fireworks.

Ellis added that lighting off fireworks on a step ladder presents

a safety hazard for police and fire personnel should they have to

navigate ladders while driving down a street on a call.

The petitioners want to throw the baby out with the bath water

when there is no compelling evidence that fireworks are as great a

safety hazard as they claim. I offer again that the common automobile

-- especially one that is driven by a drunk driver -- poses a far

greater risk than the once-a-year fireworks tradition. But there is

no petition to ban cars or alcohol in the city limits.

Truth be told, I’m a little selfish here. Like my mother-in-law,

I’m getting a little too old to climb up to that roof again.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].