Bad Manners and Brimstone

So there has been a bit of a brouhaha in my wider community about fireworks lately.

Our by-law allows them on Victoria Day and on Canada Day, with the following day as a back-up date, in case of rain.  They are to be completed by 10:00 and there are a number of rules and regulations as to where they can be launched.

Of course, very few people are following the by-law.  Most displays wouldn't be more than a mild annoyance but then you get the idjits who decide to set them off whenever and wherever they feel like and it gets the neighbour's rather upset.  So a couple of people have posted on a local message board with concerns about them, especially the 2 am ones that seem to be set off by teenagers.  By-law and police have no interest in responding to the concerns.

A number of people have been raking the concerned people, that they are calling Karens, over the coals. 'Oh, you don't like to have any fun?'  'We've been cooped up for months due to Covid; live a little.'  Which honestly, just makes people more angry.  Same with the people who say, 'I'm going to let them off whenever I want!'  One of the best responses to that was a GIF with Sam Winchester saying, 'What are you? Seven?'

One person posted on a message board on Canada Day to let people know that they were going to be setting them off in celebration, that they would be starting as soon as it got dark enough and it would be over within 20 minutes.  Which was awesome, IMO.  They didn't really need to do that, as they were following the by-law but it was nice to get the heads up.  We made sure to stay up until they were over to comfort the dogs and then went to bed.

Honestly, I wouldn't even mind if someone let off fireworks for a special occasion, in contravention of the by-law, if they gave people notice like that.  It happened a few weeks back for someone's wedding but they didn't notify anyone.  Fortunately, we hadn't gone to bed yet.

But to people who decide to let them off in a very unsafe manner in the middle of the night?  Well, I'm sure you know where I'd like to stick that firework.  And light it. 

So what do others think?

1.  OK if in accordance with by-law/ordinance in the area?  With or without notice?
2.  OK if in accordance with the safety measures in any local by-law/ordinance but let off on a different day, within the cut-off time line, with notice?
3.  OK if in accordance with the safety measures but not within the day and time requirements, with notice?
4.  OK whenever and wherever, with or without notice?

I'm OK with 1 and 2.  I'm not too keen on 3 though could live with it, with notice, as long as it wasn't too far out of the timeline.  4?  Absolutely not.

I agree with #1

If you give some people an inch, they'll take a mile.  In my neighborhood, people have been setting off fireworks since the beginning of June.  Weekends, weekdays, any time.  It gets old after a while and it seems to get worse every year.

The other big concern I have, outside of the etiquette aspect, is the safety aspect.  I have concerns that the people letting the fireworks off are less than sober.  Or teenagers who don't have the common sense God gave a squirrel.

On top of that, the fire rating is very high right now with a few surrounding municipalities instituting fire bans.  There have been a couple of grass fires and reminders to not throw cigarette butts out the window.

...  and some bring in illegal fireworks from a neighboring state* which is the biggest source of disagreement. I think I like the strictness because I think it does prevent more serious problems.

*funny how many fireworks shops you find in neighboring states, within 2 miles of our border, selling all the things you can't even legally possess in my state!

Don't know which states you're referencing, but that's true where I live too.  I know that at least one year they had people noticing which cars in the parking lots had "our" plates and then those 'guards' would phone in a description of the car and the plates, so the fireworks buyers would sometimes be arrested right at the point where drivers passed across the state line.

I have a similar personal rule - 9 pm to 9 am.

We've had fireworks in our neighborhood every night since just before Memorial Day.

Most nights it's just a couple minutes, but it doesn't start until 9 or 10. And the last week before the 4th of July it would go until 1 or 2 in the morning.

Fireworks are illegal in my city, but there are just so many that the police aren't even bothering to respond. The night of the 4th the fireworks in our neighborhood went until past 3 am. And we've still had nightly fireworks since then.

I am so tired.

One thing that bugs me about buying fireworks in the UK is that there's no requirement to describe the noisiness or otherwise of the merchandise on the packaging. I've often gone specifically looking for something pretty but without loud bangs, whether on account of pets, neighbours, small children or nervous adults, and bought something that from the description sounds just right: 'golden rain, showering silver flowers' etc - but that when lit proved also to include one or more deafening bangs that were nowhere mentioned!

It surprises me than nobody (in the UK at least) has tried to market a brand of 'pet-friendly, non-noisy fireworks. I know many people adore loud bangs but you'd think that even so there would be a serious market for them.

Does firework packaging give any information on noise levels where you live?

Drones - pretty but no bangs.  I'd love to see more displays like this. 

This year in my area (So. Calif.) has been ridiculous regarding fireworks.

They started 2 months ago and built up to an all-nighter on July 4.  I don't mind a little noise on July 4 but it went on for hours and was very loud, and apparently were the type that went far into the sky (I could only hear them, not see them, from my house).  These are illegal in my area.

It's not only that loud fireworks are illegal; they are disturbing to pets and people with PTSD, and there is the fire danger, which no one on my local Nextdoor board seems to want to address.  We are in a fire area (all of Southern California is a fire area) and all it takes is one spark.  In fact, on July 4 a spark hit a palm tree in a neighborhood about 30 miles from here, igniting it, and the fire spread to an apartment complex.  So, because some idiot needed to let off steam and have his fireworks show, 8 people lost their homes. 

I get that people are "tired of being indoors" and "need to let off steam" and "are missing their annual fireworks show" and all that nonsense, but this was way over the top, and could have resulted in a lot of damage. 

People need to grow up.  I wish the powers that be would make fireworks illegal all over the state.  As it is people can buy them in one area and take them home to areas where the fireworks are illegal.  And the police do nothing, so there's no consequences unless they happen to blow off a finger or a hand or set their own house on fire.