Warren County looking for public input on whether fireworks law should change

WARREN COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The county is taking a close look at its current law allowing the sale of certain fireworks, and wants the general public to weigh in as well.

The county Board of Supervisors is opening up its next meeting to the public to discuss whether the existing law should be repealed, after taking into consideration the negative impacts its years of use may have had on area veterans, as well as on pets.

The law, as it stands, allows sparkers, fountain fireworks, and any other ground-based “sparkling devices” that shower sparks to be sold during certain times of the year, but also allows them to be used year-round.

That use creates noise, to a degree that Warren County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Rachel Seeber says is well worth opening a larger conversation.

“We have heard from many of our residents that allowing fireworks to be sold locally and used year-round has in fact become a quality-of-life issue,” Seeber said in a release on Tuesday. “We have gotten complaints by the hundreds, as veterans and those who have pets have let us know that these devices are having a negative impact around the county.”

The possible repeal of the existing county law was suggested during a county Operations and Advocacy Committee meeting on July 19. The law has been in effect since 2015.

The board’s next meeting is set for Aug. 23. Anyone who wishes to weigh in on the issue can do so via email to warrencountystrong@warrencountyny.gov.

If repealed, Warren County would join 11 others in New York that do not allow fireworks sales.

Nearby, Albany County opted into the law in 2016, but dropped it in 2020 citing similar concerns.

Warren County also released information on the number of fireworks-related emergency calls received since the law came into effect, starting with 92 in 2015.

That number dipped down as low as 53 in 2019, before shooting up to 188 during 2020. So far, 2021 has seen 78, with August still around the corner.


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