4th of July: Airborne fireworks aren't legal in Delaware — so what is?

Susan McKenna was nearing the checkout line at the Acme grocery store on Concord Pike in Fairfax when something caught her attention.

In front of the customer service counter was a display case marked with a "TNT" logo containing packs of fireworks with names like Trojan Warrior, Red Hot and Sparkling Glory.

"I've never lived in a state where fireworks were legal," said a leery McKenna, a New England native who has relocated to Wilmington after retiring with her husband. 

In Delaware, they're only kind of legal, and only for two days a year.

Gov. John Carney signed House Bill 53 on May 10. The bill, sponsored by departing State Rep. Joseph Miro, amends Title 16 of the Delaware code relating to selling or possessing fireworks.

The bill, which limits use to July 4 and December 31, allows only ground-based and hand-held sparklers and certain other nonexplosive, nonairborne novelty items regulated by the federal government to be sold and used in Delaware. That means the state is now one of more than 40 other states with similar legislation.

The in-state fireworks shows around Independence Day are all controlled events with permitted displays.

Still on the no-fly list for civilians are firecrackers, bottle rockets, aerials like Roman candles and any other device that explodes or shoots into the air. 

But Razzle Dazzlers, Proud Eagles and Patriot Paks are all OK'd.

The sale of those items and others like them, which still make plenty of noise despite not exploding, are permitted to those 18 and older and are only available for purchase 30 days prior to the holidays.

Miro, a Pike Creek Republican, said he introduced the bill for a few reasons, one being he wanted Delaware to join the rest of the country rather than having residents drive to Pennsylvania and Maryland and then illegally use ground-based items in in the First State.

Another reason, Miro said, was for the sake of the holidays.

"It’s an American holiday," Miro said of the upcoming July 4 holiday. "People want to be able to do what so many other Americans do on the Fourth of July.

Miro also pointed to the economic development angle. The law's limitations won't see new businesses opened, but existing retailers such as Costco, Walmart and Acme will need licenses, Miro said.

Americans spent approximately $885 million on fireworks for the Fourth of July last year, a $60 million increase over fireworks sales in 2016, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association.

"We predict revenues could exceed $900 million for the 2018 fireworks season," said Julie L. Heckman, the association's executive director.

According to the APA, Delaware is one of 11 states since 2011 to have lifted restrictions on the sale of most types of consumer fireworks in order to reap the tax revenues.

The revenues, though, come with a bit of noise.

At Acme, McKenna said she was less concerned about the noise and more concerned about the safety.

In comparison to exploding fireworks, Miro said, "the safety of this type of firework is quite significant."

But accidents are still possible.

"It’s not that in and of themselves, they’re bad," McKenna said of the items in the display.

She recalled a time her mother let her and her siblings play with sparklers on a trip to Canada. But she also remembered a time when a neighbor in Brooklyn had a deadly accident.

"We were always carefully and closely supervised," she said of her teenaged use. "These things? Somebody is going to buy them and give them to their kid."

House Bill 53 cruised through legislative hall. It passed in the House with a vote of 40 yes, zero no and one absent. After a few small amendments in the Senate, it passed 18 to 3 before going back to the House for a 37 to 4 passing.

According to the bill, the act expires three years after its enactment into law unless otherwise provided by a subsequent act of the General Assembly.

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Contact reporter Jeff Neiburg at (302) 983-6772, jneiburg@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.