I have been following the commentary on banning of fireworks in Snohomish County. So far it is quite slanted against those that would like to use them. Let me give some rebuttal.
We have already made them illegal in the majority of the larger cities in the county. However by your own words and those of other writers in The Herald, they doom the success of banning them, to paraphrase “abuse is so out of control that law enforcement cannot enforce the law;” “it’s unrealistic to expect sheriff or police where fireworks are banned to successfully douse the enthusiasm of scofflaws.” Law enforcement is not properly staffed to put a dent on curtailing this. Hell, because they are so overloaded it’s hard enough to get them to respond to an accident, burglary or car prowl in a timely manner.
Again using your own words on June 22: “there has been $3 million dollars in property losses in the last decade. That is $300,000 per year. This is absolutely nothing in the big picture. How many dollars per year are lost to fires in general?
I’m 64 years old and have used fireworks all my life. I was taught how to use them responsibly. If the area is dry wet it down. Do not hold them in your hand. Do not try to relight duds. Clean up the debris and pour water on it, etc. You have to use some common sense.
If you give the county fire marshal authority to ban fireworks based on conditions, I will guarantee you they will pull the ban trigger every time unless it is pouring rain (fox in the hen house). Please clearly define “extreme fire danger.” Sounds pretty subjective to me.
I am tired of being tugged on the ear and told what I must do by the assumed righteous. If you put a county wide ban on fireworks, good luck enforcing it. The nut jobs will continue to blast them off because they don’t give a damn about what laws you pass.
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Fourth of July to salute our country.
Michael Barmuta
Everett
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