Grand Jury Urges Ban on Fireworks for 7 Holdout Cities

The 1988-89 Orange County Grand Jury on Monday urged seven Orange County cities where sales of “safe and sane” fireworks are still allowed to take immediate steps to ban them.

The grand jury, in an 18-page report, concluded that in jurisdictions in which the sale of fireworks have been outlawed, there has been a “significant reduction in property loss and personal injury.”

The report cited the 1988 Fourth of July weekend, the first holiday when the sale of fireworks were banned in unincorporated areas of Orange County. During that three-day holiday, the Orange County Fire Department responded to eight fireworks-related emergencies, down from 12 in 1987. Property damage from those eight calls totaled about $400, contrasted with $86,700 in 1987, the grand jury said.

Fireworks are still permitted for sale in Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Santa Ana and Westminster.

But city officials say they have usually faced opposition from civic groups when they have considered previous proposals to ban such lucrative fireworks’ sales.

In recent years, Santa Ana has considered a fireworks ban, only to have the City Council table the matter because of the opposition of a large number of nonprofit groups that rely on such sales to finance their activities. This year, for example, 46 civic and charitable groups have applied for a license to sell “safe and sane” fireworks, Santa Ana Fire Department officials said.

“It’s a tough call because for some groups, the money they make from fireworks sales funds their entire program,” Santa Ana City Councilman Daniel E. Griset said.

In its report, the grand jury acknowledged the reliance of nonprofit groups on money from the sale of fireworks and urged officials in those cities still permitting fireworks to be bought and sold to help those groups find alternative forms of income.

The debate is likely to occur again because a group of residents recently submitted a petition asking that the council reconsider the matter. Santa Ana Deputy Fire Chief James Montgomery has long supported a fireworks ban, and Councilwoman Patricia A. McGuigan, a vocal advocate of such a law, said pressure is building on Santa Ana to prohibit them.

“Sooner or later, we’ve got to recognize that these fireworks are a menace and a health threat,” McGuigan said. “Until we do, we’re running a serious risk that somebody is going to get seriously hurt.”

The grand jury said the effectiveness of one city’s fireworks ban is limited unless neighboring communities take similar action.