Keep Cathedral City 'safe and sane' by maintaining fireworks ban

Keep Cathedral City 'safe and sane' by maintaining fireworks ban
The IssueCathedral City no longer allows the sale of “safe and sane” fireworks.
WE SUGGEST
City leaders shouldn’t resurrect an ordinance allowing those sales to continue.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Should Cathedral City allow “safe and sane” fireworks? Send comments via the Web: www.thedesertsun.com/letters
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The Desert Sun
July 16, 2006
July 16, 2006
It's time to douse the fireworks in Cathedral City.
The city's ordinance allowing "safe and sane" fireworks expired July 5, but some youth and school groups in the city want it renewed. That would allow fireworks which do not launch into the air, move on the ground or shoot flames.
City leaders should play it safe and resist resurrecting the ordinance. Fireworks injure children, cause fires and annoy neighbors. And with the flow of illegal fireworks through the community, allowing the small stuff makes the police department's job all that more difficult.
Last year, fireworks sent about 4,800 children to emergency rooms across the United States. Interestingly, "safe and sane" firecrackers and sparklers rank as the two leading fireworks that cause injuries. Granted, with common sense, injuries can be avoided, and every year many good parents make sure they are. But nearly half of all fireworks injuries occur outside of the Fourth of July holiday season. Children often get their hands on fireworks when parents aren't around.
Fireworks also are a fire hazard, and that's especially true in our desert valley. Last year fireworks caused 79 fires across Riverside County. To prevent fires from breaking out among dry leaves and grass, we place anti-spark devices on our leaf blowers and lawn mowers. So why would we light sparklers - which burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees, hot enough to melt some metals?
Banning all fireworks also means a quieter July 5 for many city residents. There's no constant barrage of bang-pop-bang at all hours of the night from the teenagers next door or down the street.
A blanket no tolerance policy makes the police department's job of catching those who use fireworks that aren't "safe and sane" and to enforce noise ordinances easier. When all fireworks are banned, the overwhelming majority of city residents will give them up out of respect for the law. Of course, some still will insist on lighting everything from caps to M-80s. With fewer incidences of fireworks going off, however, police will be able to better locate those who insist on exploding what amounts to small bombs.
We feel for the few Cathedral City civic and school clubs who depend on fireworks sales as fundraisers. The Boys and Girls Club in Cathedral City made about $15,000 this year from fireworks sales. But we also hope they recognize the irony of selling fireworks while devoting those dollars to children's well-being.
These youth and school groups are run by smart, resourceful people, and we're confident they can come up with alternative fundraisers.