State fire marshal gives in to fireworks trade

INDIANAPOLIS -- After years of battling the fireworks trade, the state fire marshal says he will support a bill to legalize the consumer sale of fireworks in Indiana.\n"If I had my druthers I'd like to see fireworks outlawed, but that is not going to happen," State Fire Marshal Tracy Boatwright said. "After 16 years I have given up."\nThe bill, which has the backing of the Indiana Fireworks Distributors Association, would set rules for the sale of fireworks to the public and make designated locations often called shooters clubs state law.\nThe state Supreme Court declared in 1992 that a 1985 law legalizing wholesale distribution of fireworks in Indiana did not allow wholesalers to sell to the general public.\nThe industry responded by exploiting an exemption in the law that allowed public displays at shooters clubs.\nA series of lawsuits and court decisions since then have left the fire marshal with authority to enforce the law, but without the standing to ask courts to clarify it.\nBoatwright said he has given up.\n"I can't get the law enforced and every time I try, I get a restraining order which tells me to stop. I can't beat them. My feeling now is, all I can do is make it as safe as possible," Boatwright told The Post-Tribune of Merrillville for a story Sunday.\nThe new bill would make it illegal for anyone under 18 to purchase fireworks, and prohibit the sale of some skyrockets.\nThe bill's sponsor, Rep. Ed Mahern, D-Indianapolis, said the bill will protect an Indiana industry.\n"We need to clear this up so they can continue to operate," he said.\nBoatwright also said the bill would make the current gray-market system legal.\n"I have said for years either make it legal or illegal, but I believe they are here to stay and they are not going away," he said.\nBoatwright said his office had input on the bill and that he is considering testifying on behalf of the bill when it reaches the Senate. It already has passed the House\nTwo other bills involving fireworks also have passed the House.\nA bill by Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, would require hospitals and doctors to report fireworks-related injuries to the state. Another bill by Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, would make it illegal to discharge fireworks after midnight.