There are fireworks going off in Rhode Island and they aren't the kind you light. In fact, after a bill was signed last week legalizing certain types of fireworks in RI, it seems that there are some serious concerns about them.
Who will be using the fireworks, where they are going to store them and what about the injuries that could come from the careless use of these supposedly "consumer grade" fireworks. Read the bill here.
Saturday night, these newly legal fireworks caused the Comfort Inn near the TF Green airport to evacuate 150 guests.
Now the man who set them off inside his hotel room, Matthew H. Parker from Nashville, TN, is being held at the ACI on charges of first-degree arson and possession of class C fireworks.
Parker, who was staying at the hotel with other employees from Tower of Power Sales, Inc of Tacoma, removed the smoke detectors in his room and the fireworks he set off at 2:30am woke others sleeping in the hotel.
According to the police, Parker's employee told detectives he bought the Mardi Gras 90-shot fireworks at a North Providence Shaw's grocery store.
The law was passed so quickly that law enforcement officials are going to have to get up to speed on this new legislation, especially with the 4th of July weeks away.
Lawmakers say the bill will generate about a million dollars in revenue every year. However, if these "consumer grade" fireworks aren't used properly, as in the case of this past weekend's hotel incident, the revenue means nothing if lives are lost due to carelessness.
The fireworks that were set off at the Warwick hotel over the weekend could have turned into a deadly blaze like the tragic 2003 Station Night Club fire. Although the law states that the newly legal fireworks are only to be used outside, it just takes one person with total disregard for the law to put innocent people at risk.
NOTE: According to an article dated 6/21 in the Providence Journal, the fireworks used in the hotel room by Matthew H. Parker were not Roman candles. "Parker had apparently used two ground-based fireworks –– 10-inch cylinders meant to be set off on the ground, with observers 100 feet away ... Those kinds of fireworks are now legal. Investigators at first thought the fireworks were Roman-candle types, which are illegal, because the blast shot the projectiles up into the ceiling tiles" They were apparently purchased, as noted above, at Shaw's in North Providence.
Comments
Cheryl,
I am deathly afraid of fireworks, but that does not deter from the freedom we should all have to use them. And please don't evoke The Station so lightly, some of us lost friends that night.
FYI Roman Candles, rockets and firecrackers are NOT legal under the new law, only hand-held and ground based sparkling devices... the safest subset of consumer fireworks regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. People who want to use roman candles, skyrockets, firecrackers and other "aerial fireworks" must have a permit, have $1M in liability insurance and obtain a certificate of competency from the State Fire Marshal. The device used in the hotel fire was not legal in the State of Rhode Island. Unfortunately we cannot legislate against stupidity -- who in their right mind uses fireworks indoors? Uunfortunately some idiot did. Consumer fireworks are safe when used properly.
Dan...lightly??? I beg to differ. I've written plenty on the Station Fire and have friends who lost co-workers, friends in the fire. HOW on earth was I light about it? Fireworks used improperly are a tragedy in the making...and could be end up with a situation like the Station fire.
Julie---as far as I know, the fireworks that the man from TN set off in the hotel room WERE legal...he bought them at Shaw's. Unless Shaw's sells illegal fireworks? I certainly hope not....
My sources (press and fire service)indicate that a roman candle was involved and those are not legal in RI. And they certainly are not intended for indoor use. Thanks for the prompt correction to what is legal in your article. Lot of controversy in the state regarding what the public may use and we need to make certain RI citizens know what they can and cannot use this July 4th holiday and encourage them to celebrate safely!
Julie:
"Parker had apparently used two ground-based fireworks –– 10-inch cylinders meant to be set off on the ground, with observers 100 feet away, Collins said. Those kinds of fireworks are now legal.Investigators at first thought the fireworks were Roman-candle types, which are illegal, because the blast shot the projectiles up into the ceiling tiles" ProJo.com
Personally, I hate the thought of anyone getting their hands on fireworks unless they are trained. Whether a buyer is 17 or 70 doesn't matter. Anyone can be irresponsible, careless, etc. I was hit in the face with a salute when I was a child and it scared the blank out of me. Fortunately I wasn't injured but there are too many lunatics out there who, like the man in the hotel, think nothing of being mindless with these things. I'll attend a professionally run show if I want to see fireworks. To each his own...but when something tragic happens by "accident" to someone you love or are close to, that's when people will think it's a big deal.
I don't understand why everyone is saying that firecrackers like salutes and other exploding fireworks are illegal. I have read the new lay and it doesn't mention anything about them. It leaves a big gray area. The law basically says that anything that isn't an aerial firework or display firework is legal. So where's the documentation to support that they are illegal? The news articles keep saying it... but it's clearly not written into the law... unless I am mistaken. Anyone?
fireworks are safe! as long as you know what you are doing.
Matty--the law was passed so quickly it's hard to say. I've read the bill several times and honestly, I can't tell what's legal and what's not.
I live here in RI and have no problem with firework being legal. I have a close friend who passed in the station fire and not a day goes by without me thinking of her. This first year will be a crazy one with fireworks being legal. Next year the hype wont be so much. You will always have stupid people doing stupid things anywhere. Soon it wont be the "cool" thing to have fireworks because they are legal. Everyone is entitled to their own outlook on things. Does this make them a bad person?? NO
"because the blast shot the projectiles up into the ceiling tiles" If that is a true statement then Shaws indeed sold illegal fireworks. I have a feeling that the story is still all screwy and that it may have been fountains and the reached the ceiling but did not "shoot projectiles"
So far the news has reported two different types of fireworks and also has this nut job coming from two different places. Slow down and get the story right.
The law is very clear, they state that you need a permit with the exception of devises listed in sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.5 in the APA 87-1 2001 Edition, which in turn very clearly states the required composition of each device.
they also list what these devises are in the law.
What is not clear here?
teddymadison, I don't think it says that. Before it mentions those classifications you mentioned it says: "shall include, but are not limited to..." and then it sites those classifications you mentioned AS EXAMPLES. The Bill, in my eyes, states that only Aerial fireworks and Display fireworks are illegal and everything else in the class C range is legal. Again, that's just how it looks to me. Anyone else read the bill and have an opinion on it?
Matty, it does say ""shall include, but are not limited to..." but it also says "As it pertains to 3.1, 3.5, 3.2" which allows for the law to adjust what is legal along with changes to those sections. If the APA decides that something new fit's into one of those sections, the law will not be omitting them due to the specific that it calls out.
Teddy, I must admit it does make more sense when you put it (and interpret it) like that. I still believe that the law is strangely written though and I honestly believe that if they wanted firecrackers to be illegal they should have made specific reference to which ones were specifically prohibited. They use the term "aerial and display fireworks" like ten times throughout the bill, as if to imply that those are the only classifications that are prohibited. Personally, I think that aside from being rushed, the bill might have been purposefully vague as to allow sales of "gray area fireworks" that the lawmakers know will generate the most revenue. Let's face it... the bigger the boom, the brighter the show, the more people want to get their hands on them.
Finally, let me just say that personally, I am ecstatic that fireworks are legal. I hope they eventually go on to make all firecrackers and aerials legal. We'll see.
Matty, I agree that there could be more in the law. they probably should have pasted in the specific section of the APA document which states very clearly what is allowed under the sections rather than reference them. the document that the Fire Marshal created (which is wrongly being linked to from this article as the bill) is not correct either, it omits section 3.5 of the APA which allows for multi tube fountains upt to 500 grams. I for one will have a copy of the law and APA standards with me this fourth.
Matty, I agree that there could be more in the law. they probably should have pasted in the specific section of the APA document which states very clearly what is allowed under the sections rather than reference them. the document that the Fire Marshal created (which is wrongly being linked to from this article as the bill) is not correct either, it omits section 3.5 of the APA which allows for multi tube fountains upt to 500 grams. I for one will have a copy of the law and APA standards with me this fourth.
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