FIREWORK SALES ARE A BOOMING BUSINESS

Fireworks injury data harder to come by than Georgia’s revenue tally.

Days after the Fourth of July, Jake’s Fireworks in Stone Mountain remains open for business, attracting customers seeking another round of fireworks. On a recent sunny afternoon, a small but steady stream of cus- tomers fill their carts with everything from artillery shells and “Boomer Pop Pop Snappers” to bottle rockets, red-white-and-blue crackling fountains and sparklers. Like several other fireworks shops in Georgia, this store opened shortly after fireworks sales became legal in Georgia in 2015. Kaylan Western, store manager, said business has been steadily rising each year. You’ve likely heard an uptick in pops, crackles and booms, and even seen flashes of colors streaming across the sky in your neighborhood now that people can buy fireworks close to home. And it’s not only on Independence Day and New Year’s Eve. Weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations have buoyed the sale of into a yearfireworks round, growing business. What’s far less clear is whether lifting the ban on fireworks sales in Georgia has spurred more injuries. During the 2017 fiscal year,

fireworks sales in Georgia totaled about $24.8 million, up from $18.6 during the previous fiscal year, according to the Georgia of Revenue. Fireworks sales in Georgia are a boon for state tax revenue. The 5 percent excise tax on fireworks has resulted in $928,000 for the 2016 fiscal year, and $1.24 million for the 2017 fiscal year. And it continues to rise. Georgia has received $1.45 million in fireworks excise tax the 2018 fiscal year, according to the most recent numbers from the Georgia Department of Revenue, which have not yet been finalized. That translates into $29 million spent on fireworks in the state. In a June fireworks report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency says in 2017, there were at least eight deaths from fireworks, and an estimated 12,900 injuries requir- ing emergency room treatment. most common injuries associated with fire- works are burns, followed by bruises and cuts, according to the report. None of the fatalities in 2017 involved Georgia residents. But in 2016, a 27-year old man from Georgia died when a firework struck him in the neck, according to a CPSC report. is no state breakdown of fireworks-related inj ries by the federal agency. Department also u The There million during about on is incomplete in Georgia even a state law requires hospitals to report any second- or third-degree burns affecting at least 5 of a person’s body, according to State Fire Marshal Dwayne Garriss. Garriss said the form had initially required patients’ names, making some doctors reluctant to fill out the form out of privacy concerns. And even though the state changed reporting process a couple of years ago, Garriss suspects injuries often go unreported and undercounted. People don’t always obtain treatment, and hospitals may not report cases. Of the 72 fireworks-related reports received by the state fire marshal’s office in 2017, ment of Natural Resources’ a greater distance and does only one was related to the law enforcement division. not use an open flame. injury. The others were Meanwhile, fireworks are made of bamboo and related to property damage. were to blame for burn- a brown coating of comA recent ncident is a three Dawson County pressed sawdust. reminder that fireworks are homes and damaging two She reviews directions powerful explosives that can others early Thursday after for setting off the fireworks. cause even cata- a Fourth of July celebration. And with a big smile, she strophic injuries. A spokesman for the state eagerly talks about the wide Two men with signififire marshal’s office said the variety of fireworks. Customcant burns had to be air- fire was ruled accidental, ers can scan fireworks and lifted after several fireworks and the cause was impropsee them on a TV screen. inadvertently exploded at erly discarding fireworks in While perusing the shop once during a private Fourth the trash outside the house with her twin 11-year-old of July display this year on that later reignited. sons, Sarah Williams recalled Lake Sinclair. were no injuries. special trips to AlaThe victims were setting Now that July Fourth is bama every year to buy fireoff fireworks on a floating over, Jake’s Fireworks in works. Now, she drives 3 barge in the Cold Branch Stone Mountain is open only miles to Jake’s. area of the lake when a large on Fridays and Saturdays “This place is amazing,” explosion sent them divrest of year. On a said Williams, who was look- ing into the water, authorrecent afternoon, Western, ing to pick up fireworks for ities said. the store manager, gives cus- an upcoming beach “I “A sparkler had landed in tomers free “punks,” smol- love that it’s so close, and one of the firework boxes dering sticks used for I love the variety and it’s and set off a bunch of them at ing firework fuses. It is safer great I can spend my $200 one time,” said Sgt. Bo Kelly than a match or a lighter or $300 on fireworks here with the Georgia because it can be used from in Georgia.” Information though percent i the serious, fireworks incident Depart- ing the the There light- making They trip.

CONTRIBUTED Jake’s Fireworks in Stone Mountain is open for business year-round. Store manager Kaylan Western said business has steadily risen each year since fireworks sales became legal in Georgia in 2015.

CONTRIBUTED Now that the Fourth of July has passed, Jake’s Fireworks in Stone Mountain is open only on Fridays and Saturdays the rest of the year. The legalization of fireworks sales in Georgia has been a boon to state revenues.