Dickinson County officials discuss updating fireworks resolution; no vote taken

Dickinson County commissioners and local fire officials discussed possible changes to the county fireworks resolution during a work session, focusing on whether to extend permitted discharge days and whether to keep a county permit process.

The session opened with Jeremy Stuck, system fire chief, City of Avalon, saying the recommendation to the commission is to keep sales restricted but consider allowing discharge on July 5 in addition to the current July 1–4 window. “The standpoint that the city has taken on this is we’re gonna allow our commission to decide what changes they wanna make for their rules,” Stuck said. He referred to a recent change in state law that allows earlier sales; Stuck said local officials do not intend to move sales earlier than current local practice.

Paul Frederick, Dickinson County Fire District 1, and other fire officials urged keeping the discharge window narrow and emphasized safety and local burn-ban enforcement. Frederick recommended that if a fire district within the county is under a burn ban, that jurisdiction’s ban should preclude fireworks sale and discharge in that area. He also told the commission that many people do not obtain permits even though some residents do, and that improper disposal of spent fireworks has led to structural fires…