Fireworks sales raise $3 million for Ohio firefighters training

By Jake Zuckerman
cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The liberalization of fireworks laws in this state has resulted in $3 million in funding for firefighter training.

The state board is planned next week to authorize the transfer of money, funded by a 4% tax on gross receipts from fireworks sales, to the state fire marshal’s office. Almost all of that money is earmarked for firefighter training, with a small portion set aside for administrative costs of regulating fireworks sales.

In 2022, a bipartisan (though far from unanimous) group of legislators passed Bill granting Ohioans fireworks freedom. Under the previous law, people could buy consumer-grade fireworks in Ohio, but they had to transport them out of state within 48 hours. While milder fireworks (think sparklers and poppers) were legal, your bottle rockets, firecrackers, and air-launched illegal in Ohio since at least 1972..

Ohio residents can now set off fireworks on their property on the following holidays, provided that: local authorities did not ban them:

· New year

· Chinese New Year

· Five Mayas

Remembrance Day (all weekend)

Juneteenth

· July 3, 4 and 5 and the weekends before and after

Labor Day Weekend

· Diwali

· New Year’s Eve

The law does not require a fire inspector to spend money solely on fireworks-related training.

According to the state fire marshal’s office, Fireworks caused 128 fires in Ohio last year. Twenty-two of those incidents resulted in residential fires, with total damages of nearly $700,000. So far in 2024, there have been 10 incidents involving fireworks, causing nearly $10,000 in damages.

Tom Brockman, a fire marshal, said the money will help equip his office and the Ohio Fire Academy with funds to ensure firefighters can respond effectively to incidents to protect their communities and personal well-being. That training is not necessarily related to fireworks incidents.

“When it comes to firefighter response, those actions are determined by the local communities in which they serve,” he said. “That said, firefighters throughout the state of Ohio are required to respond to any incident that puts the lives and property of Ohioans at risk. That’s true on the Fourth of July and every day of the year.”

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit cleveland.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.