Morinville residents will be able to buy fireworks at the corner store under a bylaw now before town council, but they will have to leave town if they want to shoot them.
Morinville town council passed first reading of an amendment to the town’s Fire Services Bylaw Jan. 11 in a 4-2 vote (Coun. Stephen Dafoe and Mayor Simon Boersma opposed, Coun. Scott Richardson absent).
In an interview, Morinville Fire Chief Brad Boddez said the town currently bans the use, sale, and unsafe storage of fireworks in Morinville except by licensed pyrotechnicians who have a permit from the town. There is currently nowhere in Morinville and maybe one spot in Sturgeon County where you can buy fireworks.
Working with the business community, Boddez said administration now proposes to allow limited fireworks sales, but not fireworks use, in Morinville.
If passed, this amendment would allow people to apply for a permit to sell and store fireworks in town and use them outside of town, provided they followed the Alberta Fire and Building Codes, Safety Codes Act, Explosives Act, and other regulations. Boddez told council that certified pyrotechnicians with a fireworks discharge permit would still be the only ones allowed to launch fireworks within the town’s borders.
The draft bylaw would let permit holders buy, sell, or shoot fireworks 10 days prior to and on specific holidays: Victoria Day, the Sunday after Canada Day, Heritage Day, Labour Day, New Year’s Day, and other dates authorized by council. Only low-hazard consumer fireworks, such as sparklers or Roman candles, could be sold or stored in town.
Boersma questioned why the bylaw appeared to require several permits to buy and sell fireworks, and likened it to having to fill out a form specifying how many bullets you had for a legally-owned gun. He also asked why the law limited the sale to just 50 days a year.
"Why all the red tape for a store to be able to sell fireworks?"
Boddez told council administration wanted to limit fireworks sales to just these 50 days to reduce the amount of time these explosives would spend sitting around town.
"These things are dangerous," he said, and having them available year-round would create more risk to buildings.
Town fire prevention officer Fred Nash said this permit process would help the fire department track the volume and location of fireworks in town to ensure they are properly stored and to protect buildings during a fire.
The draft bylaw proposed a $250 fine for unsafe fireworks storage (up from the current $100) and a $500 fine for selling or distributing fireworks without a permit.
The bylaw will return for second reading and potential amendments Jan. 25.
