Managers of Maine’s fireworks stores say sales are booming as Independence Day approaches, but state figures suggest Mainers’ interest in having the rockets’ red glare in their backyards is losing some of its luster.

Fireworks sales dropped nearly 10 percent from 2013 to 2014, the second full year of sales since consumer fireworks were legalized in Maine. State figures show that sales for this year, through May, are flat compared with last year.

Even so, people who sell fireworks were upbeat as Independence Day approached.

An official with a consumer fireworks industry group said sales have been flat nationally for several years, but are up this year because of the timing of the holiday.

Robert Blake, vice president of the National Fireworks Association, believes sales have been lackluster because of a recovering economy in which consumers questioned whether they could afford to shell out hundreds of dollars for a backyard display. But Blake said sales are up for this year’s holiday because it’s on a Saturday, when most people can stay up late shooting off rockets and don’t have to worry about getting up early for work the next day.

In Scarborough, Jeff Graham, general manager of Phantom Fireworks, said his store was “stocked and ready to go.”

Advertisement

Graham said kits of aerial fireworks are the top sellers every year. Prices for the kits range from $50 to $1,500, but the most popular one in his store is called the Grand Finale, which goes for $179, he said.

“Big Al” Cohen, who owns Big Al’s Fireworks in Wiscasset, said his sales are up heading into the holiday because “I’m a smarter retailer this year.”

Cohen said he’s learned what sells and what doesn’t and he’s better at anticipating what he should have in his inventory each year.

He said a kit called Excalibur, which has 24 shells and sells for $69, as well as roman candles and other fountains are what most Mainers go for.

“People just keep picking them up when they come in,” he said.

Cohen said July Fourth and New Year’s Eve are the most popular times for people to shoot off fireworks, but he’s also seeing more consumers wanting a display for graduations, weddings and even funerals.

Advertisement

“I’ve had people spend $500-plus (for a funeral display) because the person liked fireworks,” he said. “People are using them for more and more things.”

INSPECTORS TO MONITOR FOR SAFETY

But summer, and particularly Independence Day, are still tops for sales, he said.

“This month and next, I’m going to send huge checks to the state,” Cohen said.

Those checks add up, even though there was a drop in sales after the first full year of legalization. Taxes on fireworks sales totaled $123,202 in 2011-12, but sales were only allowed for part of the year. In the next fiscal year, which runs July 1 through June 30, the state’s take of fireworks sales was $343,992, and in 2013-14 it was $321,659, according to Maine Revenue Services. Through May this fiscal year, an 11-month period, the total was $264,190. June and July account for nearly two-thirds of fireworks sales in Maine.

There are 24 stores licensed to sell fireworks in Maine, according to the state Fire Marshal’s Office. Each store has to be inspected before a license is issued.

Advertisement

The office will have inspectors and investigators out in force this weekend checking for compliance with state fireworks laws and on public safety, said Joseph Thomas, the state fire marshal.

“It’s all hands on deck,” he said.

Police in cities and towns, particularly in southern Maine, also will be busy because many communities ban the use of fireworks. Some communities have carved out exceptions for Independence Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Thomas said inspectors are required at some of the larger commercial displays by towns and cities, and his office also responds to complaints about improper or illegal fireworks use. He said common infractions include shooting off fireworks on public property, such as a beach, and his office is already receiving complaints from people reporting such incidents last year who are worried about a repeat this year.

Typically, such infractions are a misdemeanor resulting in a fine, but Thomas has urged his staff to be stricter if behaviors threaten the welfare of children.

“If I find out that kids are being provided with them, the adult will be looking at endangerment of a child (charges),” he said.

Advertisement

INJURIES TEND TO BE SERIOUS

Thomas said data he has compiled from emergency medical services indicate that eight people in Maine were transported to hospitals with injuries because of fireworks in 2013 and 11 were transported last year. The injuries ranged from broken bones to missing fingers and “gaping wounds to hands,” he said. One person lost an eye, Thomas said, and the figures don’t include people who were taken to a hospital by car, rather than by ambulance.

“These aren’t injuries that would take a Band-Aid, they’re traumatic,” Thomas said.

Casey MacVane, associate residency director at Maine Medical Center in Portland, is expecting to see five to 10 fireworks injuries in the hospital’s emergency room this weekend. The number could be on the high end of the range, MacVane said, because a Saturday holiday could mean an increase in the number of parties featuring fireworks displays.

“Frequently, we find (fireworks injuries) are mixed with the use of alcohol,” she said.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.