2015
brought the West Coast and the State of Washington unusually hot and dry
weather conditions that increased the number and severity of fires across our
state. Several jurisdictions feared that the use of personal fireworks around the
4th of July would further increase fires and sought to limit or ban
the use of fireworks due to extreme fire danger conditions.
Washington’s
current fireworks law, RCW 70.77, states that any city or county ordinances
that are more restrictive than state law shall have an effective date no sooner
than one year after adoption. So the jurisdictions that did not already have a
local ordinance in place were left without an option to limit or ban sales and
use of fireworks due to the extreme fire danger.
In
an effort to assist local counties and cities with this issue, the Washington
Fire Chiefs and Washington State Association of Fire Marshals have produced a sample
ordinance for local jurisdictions to use for future years should the need arise
to ban the sale and use of personal fireworks during times of extreme fire
danger.
If
you have any questions, or we can be of further assistance, please contact the
Washington Fire Chiefs office at 360-352-0161.
Sincerely,
Wayne Senter
Washington Fire Chiefs |
Jim Kambeitz
Washington State Association of Fire Marshals |