Lawrence ban on fireworks remain steadfast despite lackluster enforcement

By Darby VanHoutan | @darbyvanhoutan

A couple watches fireworks set off by private citizens to celebrate Independence Day, from a vantage point at the Liberty Memorial on Wednesday, July 4, 2018 in Kansas City, Mo. Associated Press | Charlie Riedel

This year marks the sixteenth that the city of Lawrence celebrated the Fourth of July without fireworks. However, in the neighboring areas of Douglas County — including the cities of Eudora and Baldwin City — all types of fireworks are permissible.

It’s only been since 2002 that Lawrence specifically has outlawed all fireworks except for what they call “novelty items.” This includes, according to Officer Derrick Smith with the Lawrence Police Department, things like snappers, sparklers and smoke devices.

“Safety is one of the main reasons, we don’t want somebody shooting something off and catching something on fire,” Smith said.

According to Jill Chadwick with the University of Kansas Health System, the KU Medical Center saw 25 patients for fireworks related injuries this year. The most common type of injury, she said, were to hands and lower extremities. Safety, however, isn’t the only reason the city made the switch move than a decade ago.

“A number of people have PTSD and can have certain reactions obviously to loud things, loud noises. Another thing is animals,” Smith said. “A lot of people have pets and things like that and they can get scared easily.”

Even with the ban in place, though, Smith said delivering citations on the July holiday is nearly impossible. Without a dispatch to an exact location, officers are usually left guessing what area illegal fireworks are being launched from.

“It is kind of hard to track down unless you’re right in the vicinity of it. Normally we are dispatched to it,” Smith said. “In the past we’ve had a few extra units be on a firework-type assignment where they’re going around responding to those calls or if they hear something going directly to those. But traditionally its difficult.”

In 2017, from June 30 to July 5, LPD received 188 complaints and, according to Smith, only issued three citations. These citations, he described, usually result in some type of education and a confiscation of the fireworks. Moreover, employees of local fireworks stands — which are required to be outside of city limits — describe interactions they have at their own stands with Lawrence citizens.

Joe Ramos, an employee at Nazarene Church Fireworks Stand in Topeka, said that he almost exclusively sells fireworks to people who say they live in Lawrence.

“I’d say a majority of the people we see here talk about how they’re from Lawrence or around it,” Ramos said.

Regardless, people like Officer Smith said offices like LPD will continue to distribute educational materials regarding local ordinances annually and don’t project the end to Lawrence’s fireworks ban coming anytime soon.