Firefighters and pyrotechnics manufacturers agree state laws allowing Ohio residents to purchase but not launch fireworks in-state are ineffective, but disagree on how to fix them.
Fireworks proponents say the answer is to relax the existing law. Though it hasn’t been legal in decades, a pair of bills before the General Assembly would allow Ohioans to purchase so-called 1.4G explosives, commonly known as consumer-level fireworks, and shoot them off across the state. Local firefighters tell the Dayton Daily News they’re concerned this will cause new problems in an already difficult situation.
The bill — introduced in the Senate by state Sen. David Burke, R-Marysville, and in the House by state Rep. Don Manning, R-New Middletown, and Rep. Michael O’Brien, D-Warren — would allow the public to legally use popular pyrotechnics, including fountains, cones and firecrackers.