Firework season is here, police ask Longmont to act as good neighbors

Weeks away from joining the nation in celebrating July 4, the night air is already punctuated with the booming report of fireworks around town.

This year’s Fourth of July fireworks display, put on by Skyline Kiwanis, will be hosted by Fox Hill Country Club instead of the Boulder County Fairgrounds. The fireworks event was cancelled last year due to safety and health concerns during the pandemic. When planning for this year’s festivities started, safety during the pandemic was unclear and Skyline Kiwanis moved to a private event at the country club instead.

Fireworks dazzle and sparkle in the sky, eliciting awe and wonder from kids and adults of all ages. Sparklers, smoke bombs, fountains and other pyrotechnics  are legal in Longmont, so long as they don’t leave the ground. 

Once those pyrotechnic displays, like the ones in professional fireworks shows, leave the ground they are considered illegal by the state of Colorado and city of Longmont.

“We don’t like fireballs that leave the ground, because you can’t control the ignition or detonation once it’s up in the air,” said Captain Michele Goldman of the Longmont Fire Department. “If you can’t control your celebration and keep it contained, it can cause bigger problems.”

According to Goldman, uncontrollable ignitions, like those in illegal fireworks, can cause damage to nearby property. Faulty or delayed ignitions can also cause significant injury and harm, as well as increasing risks of uncontrolled fires.

“Even with as wet as this spring has been, all the tall vegetation around town is still fuel,” Goldman said. “Without moisture or humidity, those plants can still start a blaze if fireworks get out of hand.”

Fireworks were responsible for an estimated 10,000 hospitalizations in 2019, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s, or CPSC, report from June 2020. Of those injuries, burns were the most common, followed by significant injury to hands, fingers, arms and legs. 

Beyond the risks of fire and physical injury, the loud report of a firework explosion can be unsettling or traumatic to both people and pets organizations like the Humane Society and Marine Corps Community Services. Legal fireworks like firecrackers and fountains whistle or crack, but aren’t deafening en masse.

Animals like dogs and cats are particularly sensitive to noises, bright lights and strong smells, according to the Humane Society. Pet owners should make sure their animals are safe at home, outdoor pets should be brought inside and owners should consider leaving music or the television on to soften noises from outside. While these measures can alleviate some of the issues pets face, it isn’t a solution.

Longmont Public Safety’s Deputy Chief Jeff Satur encourages the residents of Longmont to be good and considerate neighbors.

“Military veterans and people that suffer from PTSD, people sensitive to noise, children and pets all have concerns around the Fourth of July,” Satur said. “It’s not respectful to your neighbors to just throw caution to the wind and shoot fireworks off all night. People should think about the impact it could have on others.”

Longmont Public Safety encourages neighbors and neighborhoods to work together for firework safety and to take care of each other.

“Neighborhoods should work together collectively to make sure everyone that lives there is being heard,” Goldman said.

“Can you go talk to your neighbors? Can the neighborhood get together and decide it’s a fireworks free zone?” Satur asked. “There’s options like that, and that could help alleviate the burden from Public Safety.”

Longmont Public Safety doesn’t have the staff to pursue every complaint during the season, Satur said. Longmont covers 340 miles of road, and on the Fourth of July will have 31 police officers assigned to patrol with another 21 officers specifically assigned to respond to firework complaints in the twenty-four-hour period.

“From a police perspective, one of the biggest issues is that we’ve got other, more serious calls during the night and there’s just no way we can respond to the sheer volume of firework complaints that come from all over the city,” Satur said. “We’re not going to be able to enforce our way out of this without people being respectful of their neighbors, their neighborhoods and voluntarily complying with the law.”

One of the issues with reporting are the difficulties that Longmont’s police face with anonymous tips, according to Satur. When a complaint comes in without a specific address, or without a signed witness statement it becomes harder for the police to enforce and issue a fine.

“Many of the complaints we receive are ‘Hey there are fireworks at 15th and Collyer Street, and we can respond to it but it’s likely not coming from that intersection,” Satur said. “As opposed to someone that calls in to say ‘My neighbor is shooting off fireworks at this address and I’m willing to sign a complaint.’ Without specific addresses, there’s no way we can be everywhere in the city.”

Goldman agreed with the difficulty of pursuing complaints during the season.

“We get hundreds of calls,” Goldman said. “You kind of just chase your tail without witness statements.”

Longmont restricts the use of legal fireworks to a resident’s private property, as opposed to city streets or public parks. 

“It is illegal to set off fireworks in a park, or in private property like a parking lot,” Satur said. “Legal fireworks can really only be used in your yard or your driveway. Legal fireworks can’t be set off on a street, but the illegal fireworks are really what drives our volume of calls for service.”

Fines of up to $500 and/or punishment of up to 90 days in jail can be issued for the illegal use or possession of fireworks in the city of Longmont, according to Public Safety. Residents that wish to report fireworks complaints should call the non-emergency number, (303) 651-8501.

“We just want people to be good, respectful neighbors and talk to each other,” Goldman said. “Maybe setting off fireworks isn’t malicious, but we don’t want to be the big bad guys that come in and shut down the celebration.”