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San Bernardino considers ban on all fireworks ahead of Fourth of July

San Bernardino considers moratorium on all fireworks
San Bernardino considers moratorium on all fireworks 03:30

On Wednesday, the San Bernardino City Council discussed a potential moratorium on the sale of safe and sane fireworks ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

The city hopes the moratorium will allow it time to consider a permanent ban.

"It's dangerous. It scares me," resident John Shollenberger said. "I've worked all my life for that house and I don't want it to go up in flames."

Shollenberger said he typically stays home on the Fourth of July because he's worried about the reckless use of fireworks in the city.

"I think what it stems from is that people get the idea that 'Oh, fireworks are legal in the city of San Bernardino, we can light off whatever we want!' No, that'd not it."

The city said the safe and sane fireworks, which are exclusively sold by licensed nonprofits, often end up being used in a dangerous way, leading to increased police calls. 

"How are they making decisions on what you can and can not do?" resident Anthony George Lang Jr. said. "I can see if you're doing something unsafely."

Lang said he disagreed with the potential ban because he loves lighting fireworks. 

The city generates about $94,000 a year from fireworks sales but spends $269,000 issuing permits and enforcing codes for them. It also burdens police officers when they are forced to respond to both illegal and legal fireworks calls. 

"I'm concerned with how they may impact our enforcement overall," San Bernardino Police Department Darren Goodman said. 

Goodman isn't sure the moratorium would make neighborhoods safer. He argued that safe and sane fireworks help his officers crack down on the more powerful and dangerous illegal fireworks. 

Tax revenue from safe and sane firework sales also funds operations against illegal fireworks, especially in 2024.

"We went out, we did undercover operations, we did social media purchases of illegal fireworks, and we collected so many by the fourth," Goodman said. "By the time the fourth came around our calls for service for fireworks went down."

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