Hop across bridge brings bounty of fireworks to N.J.

Originally posted on usatoday

In this nation hard wired with defiance,thousands of New Jersey residents unite in quiet rebellionin the weeks leading up to Independence Day.

With wallets and gasoline tanks loaded, they cross the Delaware River. After they arrive in Pennsylvania, they load up on Fourth of July celebration supplies banned by the New Jersey Legislature: mortars, Roman candles, firecrackers, poppers, bottle rockets and even sparklers.

Risking fines and imprisonment, they smuggle their new ignitables — labeled with eye-catching names like Untamed Retribution, Wizard of Ahhhs and Uncle Abe's Grand Finale — back home.

This tradition is as essential to the Fourth of July as hanging Old Glory from the front porch and grilling hot dogs over flaming coals. It also is a reminder that the original 13 colonies gave birth to a system in which state laws don't always work well together.

"The laws are conflicting and maybe even silly because of the way they operate," said Vice President William Weimer of Phantom Fireworks, which has about 1,200 locations across the USA including here. "The law says fireworks are illegal, but they're not illegal."

Four states — Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York — ban all consumer fireworks, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. Four other states — Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Vermont — allow only sparklers and other novelty items. The remainder allow at least some fireworks that federal regulations permit though individual cities and counties within a state may have their own restrictions.

Pennsylvania residents are not allowed to purchase fireworks unless they have a permit from their municipalities and post a $500 bond for potential damages, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. But out-of-state residents older than 18 are allowed to purchase fireworks as long as they have an ID and sign a form at the store that says they will transport the fireworks out of Pennsylvania immediately.

Fireworks for sale are displayed July 1 at Phantom Fireworks in Easton, Pa.(Photo: Warren Westura, Asbury Park, N.J., Press)

According to New Jersey's Explosives and Fireworks Act, fireworks of any kind are "against the public health, safety and welfare of the people of the state." The only legal items in the realm of pyrotechnics are paper or plastic caps for toy guns — hardly the stuff of night-sky celebrations Americans look forward to each summer.

So each year the authorities in New Jersey beef up patrols on the borders and issue perfunctory warnings about the illegality of possessing, and especially setting off, fireworks at home.

Breaking New Jersey's law is punishable by a fine of up to $7,500 and/or imprisonment up to 18 months, Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches said in a "strong warning" to the public this week. But warnings have done little to deter generations of New Jersey residents from making their annual excursions.

Now is the sweet spot of fireworks season, said Jeff Bell, the manager of the Phantom Fireworks Easton location. Between 80% and 90% of the store's annual sales come June 22 to July 22, he said.

Not coincidentally, more than half of the 8,700 emergency room visits in 2012 attributable to fireworks occurred in the same period, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"(Fireworks customers) come from all over the Eastern Seaboard," Bell said. "But of course, right, the majority of our customers are coming from the New York or New Jersey customer base."

For the past three years Pete Breece has loaded up for Independence Day festivities at his home in Union County, N.J. He said he spends about $500 on several hundred mortars and the trip to buy them is "a little getaway."

On the night of July 4, he and his friends will set off the fireworks — and more than likely, the nerves of his local police, too.

"I like to see how many times the cops will come to my house," said Breece, 24. "They'll be there at least seven times."

On a recent trip to Phantom, Newark, N.J., resident Rondell Jones brought his three sons to buy some "simple" and "colorful skyrocket" fireworks, as he does each year.

On the Fourth of July the family will "do a little cookout, shoot a little fireworks, give them their own little show." And he believes that responsible parents should be allowed to do so under New Jersey law.

But he does not push the limits.

"One day is good enough for me," he said. "Then it's back to work."

State fireworks laws across the USA

Only four states ban all consumer fireworks while 42 states and the District of Columbia permit at least some types. Cities and counties within those states may enact their own prohibitions.