Downey to consider firework ban in city

DOWNEY - Downey may be moving towards an outright ban of fireworks in the city.

During his comments at the Council Meeting on Tuesday, Councilman Sean Ashton suggested that it may be time for the city to “move away” from the controversial Independence Day tradition.

“It’s that time of year. It seems when the weather gets warm, and people have idle time that the fireworks issue comes up and it’s starting to happen; I heard a lot of it this weekend,” said Ashton. “I know we’ve looked into increasing the fines for fireworks, increased patrolling for the fireworks. This is tough for me to say, but I’m to the point where I think it would be a good idea to consider a ban on fireworks in the city of Downey.”

“I’ve wanted to kind of see what we can do to maybe push this off, and maybe see if it’ll work itself out. I personally don’t see it and I think it’s time that the City of Downey starts looking at enacting a ban on fireworks.”

Many churches and non-profit organizations often sell “safe and sane” fireworks during the week of 4th of July as a means of fundraising.

Unfortunately, the city has been plagued by a steady increase in the use of illegal fireworks.

As Ashton mentioned, the city has previously tried to curb the trend with an uptick in patrols and increased fines, which can total anywhere up to $3,000 depending on the number of violations.

However, it is notoriously difficult for officers to catch violators while they are actively discharging an illegal firework. As such, many are able to avoid the subsequent citations.

Ashton asked that staff bring back information to the council detailing the pros and cons of a firework ban.

Downey Fire Department responded to nine fires – including one house fire – between the hours of 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Independence Day last year.