Lynwood warns of stiffer penalties for fireworks violators
Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, Lynwood officials are warning residents they will face stiffer penalties for use of consumer fireworks, which are illegal in Illinois and which village officials stress put people at risk of serious injury.
Signs have been posted throughout the village warning that violators are subject to arrest and for each offense a $750 fine, which is in line with some neighboring municipalities. The Lynwood fine was raised from $50 to $750, Lynwood police Chief Daniel Dempsey said.
Signs also warn that fireworks are subject to seizure. Lynwood borders Indiana, where fireworks sales are legal, providing easy access for residents, Mayor Jada Curry said.
The village modified its ordinance increasing the penalty following complaints from residents, and Dempsey began posting the roughly 100 signs this month, he said.
“We received complaints about excessive use of fireworks around the village last year around the Fourth of July and even prior to the Fourth,” Curry said. “We had incidents where individuals were setting off fireworks and they landed on a neighbor’s roof and caused damage.
In one incident, fireworks landed in someone’s hair and the person was taken to the hospital, said Lynwood fire Chief Keenan Newton.
Village officials said the response to the modified ordinance has been mostly favorable, but some residents have complained.
“What we have explained to residents is this is the law,” Curry said. “This is Illinois law. Fireworks are illegal. The ordinance was already on the books. We are enforcing the ordinance as well as state law.”
The ordinance was modified because Lynwood’s previous $50 fine was not a sufficient deterrent, said Dempsey.
“When people buy fireworks, when they go to Indiana, they normally spend a lot of money,” Dempsey said. “If all we have is a $50 fine, most people aren’t going to care.”
He said the fine was raised to $750 because the village had to “obviously make it hurt their
pocket to deter them from buying fireworks and setting them off in Lynwood.”
Glenwood and Lansing also have fines of up to $750 fines. Lansing police Chief Alfred Phillips said previously, in responding to fireworks violations, police would give violators a warning. But last year, in response to an increase in fireworks complaints, a zero-tolerance policy was implemented, Phillips said.
“We go straight to citations,” he said.
Last year, the Lynwood Police Department received about 20 fireworks related calls, Dempsey said.
The department usually has three officers working each shift, but the Fourth of July weekend it will have six officers, one person from emergency services and two Fire Department personnel “driving around watching for people lighting fireworks,” he said.
Newton said the village responded to four calls last year that were actual fires due to fireworks.
“They were in residential areas … mostly due to trash fires, improper disposing of fireworks,” Newton said.
But about 10 years ago, the home of the parents of a member of the Lynwood Fire Department caught fire due to fireworks, he said.
“It burned down the entire house,” Newton said. “We’ve had other structural fires, not to that severity to my knowledge, but we have a lot of brush fires that occur because of fireworks, a lot of trash fires. Just in the parks alone, we get about three or four fires in garbage cans, and usually we find some type of fireworks residue inside of them.”
The department was hampered in responding to calls “because people were launching fireworks on the street. I know one garbage can fire we actually had to wait because they were launching fireworks in the middle of the street. We couldn’t get to the fire.”
Fireworks debris left over in the parks and streets took significant village resources to clean afterward, he said.
Officials said consumers should avoid using fireworks because they are illegal and dangerous.
“The fact is most of them are explosives, and explosives can maim and create injuries and even possibly death,” Dempsey said. “Yes, they’re pretty to look at, but at the same time they are incredibly dangerous.”
He noted even sparklers, which are legal in Lynwood and in Illinois and which parents may consider harmless to kids, can cause serious injury. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to melt some metals, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The commission reported an increase in fireworks-related injuries and deaths in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many municipalities to cancel public fireworks displays. Nationally, roughly 15,600 people were treated in hospital emergency departments for fireworks injuries in 2020, up from about 10,000 emergency room-treated fireworks injuries in 2019, according to the commission.
Most injuries occurred in a month period surrounding the Fourth of July holiday from June 21 to July 21. During that period, firecrackers were the biggest source of emergency room treated fireworks injuries (1,600), followed by sparklers (900), the commission reported.
Eighteen people died from fireworks-related injuries in 2020, up from 12 in 2019.
Data on 2021 injuries and deaths are due out this week.
In Illinois, hospitals reported one person died from fireworks-related injuries during the Fourth of July holiday period last year, according to the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshall. There were 202 injuries, up from 163 during the same period in 2020, the office reported.
Besides the risk of injury, fireworks can cause trauma for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and individuals with other mental health challenges, Dempsey said. They also can upset many elderly adults, family pets and other animals.
“They can affect a lot of people, so people have to take that into consideration,” he said. “It’s important to respect your neighbors, people around you. That’s another reason why you shouldn’t be blowing them off.”
He and other officials encourage residents to attend municipal fireworks events as a safe alternative.
“Leave fireworks to the professionals,” Newton said.