EASTON, Pa. — Easton City Council steamed a bit over fireworks at Wednesday's meeting, raising questions about how to keep the public safe and secure while navigating the mess of state laws on the subject.
Councilman Frank Pintabone said, and City Administrator Luis Campos verified, that the Easton Police Department fielded only six phone calls regarding fireworks complaints on July 4.
However, city council members saw and heard plenty more online and publicly.
“We can't continue this way. This is going to mean more and more damage, more houses burning down if we continue this way. We’ve got to stop it somehow. We’ve got to do something; we’ve got to redouble our efforts. I understand it's not going to be easy, but if it was easy, you know, we wouldn't have to pay anybody to do it."Easton City Councilmember James Edinger
Council decided it needs to look into the matter further.
“I think the best thing to do is bring in [the police department], and then have them go into a little bit more detail," Campos said.
"And then after digging in, we can discuss what else to do.”
The subject stirred up a hot-topic issue about clashing laws.
A clash with the state
“Ever since the state legalized fireworks, we've had nothing but trouble on every major holiday," Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said. "Of course, Fourth of July is the worst.”
Throughout Pennsylvania, residents are permitted to buy consumer-grade fireworks.
“It doesn’t matter. My neighborhood is like a war zone.”Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
They can be set off on a property only with the permission of the property owner, they must be directed away from any people, buildings or vehicles, they can't be discharged within 150 feet of a building or vehicle at any time, and they can't be discharged by a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
While municipalities can restrict the use of consumer fireworks between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m., there are exceptions for July 2, 3, 4, and Dec. 31, when they are permitted until 1 a.m.
Panto said there are “very few places” within the city where one could even set off fireworks while adhering to state regulations.
“It doesn’t matter," he said. "My neighborhood is like a war zone.”
Councilwoman Crystal Rose agreed, and said even though she was on vacation during the celebration, she got numerous text messages, phone calls and video clips showing residents in undisclosed neighborhoods setting off fireworks.
“There were certain neighborhoods, I have to say, [where] it looked like a war zone,” Rose said. “There are people who are lighting off dynamite sticks.
"I know that the state has allowed people to buy fireworks, but I think we really need to have some further discussions about what we can do, and are there other municipalities that are finding success? Do we need to increase patrolling?”
Illuminating danger
Rose also pointed out that fireworks could lead to fires, including the July 5 fire on Lehigh Street that displaced more than a dozen people. Investigators were trying to determine if fireworks may have started the blaze.
Council members stressed that fire still is being investigated, and no source had been confirmed as of Thursday evening.
Councilman James Edinger, who lives near the building that caught fire, said he felt public consensus, and some evidence of firework debris, means fireworks were at least a probable cause for the blaze.
“The owner of the building told me that it was guys on the second deck that were shooting fireworks off to all hours of the night,” Edinger said.
“I guess the police had spoken to them. They said that they stopped an hour before. So in my mind, it sounds like that's probably exactly what happened. But almost everybody there thought that that's what happened.”
Councilman Ken Brown called fireworks in the city “a real problem.” He said that after July 4, “my whole roof was covered with the soot that comes out of" the fireworks, and he found debris on his family’s vehicles, as well.
Trying to handle situations alone
Rose suggested the surprisingly low number of calls to police might stem from residents trying to resolve situations themselves, approaching neighbors and asking them to stop setting off the fireworks.
"We’ve got to stop it somehow. We’ve got to do something; we’ve got to redouble our efforts. I understand it's not going to be easy, but if it was easy, you know, we wouldn't have to pay anybody to do it."Easton Councilman James Edinger
“I’ve also been told by several people in the West Ward that they have approached their neighbors after 10, 11 p.m. and asked them to kindly please stop — they have to go to work, they have a baby who is trying to sleep," Rose said.
"And then they’re met with aggression, and told to mind their own business."
Councilman Roger Ruggles said that while Easton doesn't permit residents to light fireworks in the city, state law takes precedence in the situation, leaving police with limited options.
“State law has put us in a very tenuous position, because it used to be when fireworks were illegal, the police showed up, and if they had fireworks, they could confiscate them — they were illegal,” Ruggles said.
“But now they're legal. So the police essentially have to see somebody lighting the fuse in order to do anything.”
Edinger said, “We can't continue this way. This is going to mean more and more damage, more houses burning down if we continue this way.
"We’ve got to stop it somehow. We’ve got to do something; we’ve got to redouble our efforts. I understand it's not going to be easy, but if it was easy, you know, we wouldn't have to pay anybody to do it."
