Small towns may be stuck with fireworks

BUCKFIELD — Buckfield, and other small towns in the area, would have a difficult time banning fireworks within their borders, Town Manager Glen Holmes told the Board of Selectmen on November 15.

The issue was raised by Selectman Rodney Allen, who said that he had heard suggestions from citizens that Buckfield consider banning fireworks, at least from the center of town.

"The sheriff spoke on that issue in regard to small communities that do not have police forces," said Holmes. "If the town of Buckfield was to pass an ordinance that said 'you shall not sell of use fireworks within the city limits of Buckfield,' neither the sheriff's department nor the state police will enforce that."

Dane Tripp, Chief Deputy, Oxford County Sheriff's Office, said that this was true.

"It's a civil violation brought on by the town," said Tripp. "We try not to get involved with that."

Even if the county were to address the issue, said Tripp, the transitory nature of the crime makes it difficult for county law enforcement to respond effectively.

"We get a call that somebody's shooting off fireworks, and we might have to drive 40, 50 miles to get there sometimes," Tripp said. "By the time we get there, the Fourth of July could be  over."

But Stephen McCausland, the public information officer for the Maine State Police, said that the issue is not cut and dried.

In June, the state legislature passed a law that will legalize fireworks in the state of Maine, effective on the first day of 2012. Under the law, each municipality retains the right to regulate fireworks within their borders.

"It is not a true local ordinance, like a parking ban on such-and-such a street," said McCausland. "The fireworks issue does have some broader ramifications."

McCausland suggested that, since the state initiated the fireworks issue and specifically provided for municipalities to create bans, the town bans could be seen as falling within the state's jurisdiction.

"My gut tells me we likely would enforce that aspect," he said.

Holmes said that, in Buckfield, enforcing a ban is not practical. 

"We have no way to enforce it, unless you're going to hire a constable," he said. "So you can have an ordinance, but it's really not going to help anybody."

Various cities have banned fireworks, including Portland, Lewiston, Falmouth, and Augusta. Many others are considering bans or restrictions in the near future.

"A lot of places are banning them, but if you look at who's doing it, it's the towns that have police forces to enforce that," said Holmes.

Holmes said that one option for small towns that wish to limit fireworks use is to create ordinances that shape what constitutes a "nuisance" in the town.

"The only thing you can do that would possibly work is if you had a 'no fireworks after 9 o'clock at night' [rule], because what you're then setting is basically kind of a quiet time in your town and anything after 9 o'clock is a nuisance," he said.

That way, said Holmes, county and state police forces would enforce state nuisance laws without specifically enforcing the municipal ordinance.

Overall, Holmes suggested that the issue of firework-related noise complaints would be a relatively small one.

"Let's face it," he said. "The only time they're going to be a real problem is on Fourth of July, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, things like that."

Allen declined an offer from Holmes to compile a list of ordinances for further review of the issue.