Not all fireworks sold at booths approved

Malia Spencer

Thursday, July 3, 2003 | 11:29 a.m.

In an empty lot near the corner of North Nellis Boulevard and Craig Road sits the charred remains of 50 foot tractor trailer. Among the melted aluminum and burned pallets and cardboard fire investigators found the remnants of three Ammo Smoke novelty items. What makes this fire unique is a small white seal found on the items that are believed to have started the blaze.

They bore the"Safe and Sane" fireworks seal.

But fire officials said this type of firework was not on the list of approved fireworks for sale in Clark County. Each year fire officials conduct spot checks to make sure fireworks booths are selling legal goods, Fire Inspector Kelly Blackmon said. Since fireworks sales began Saturday, Blackmon has found only one booth of the 176 in the Las Vegas Valley selling unapproved "Safe and Sane" fireworks.

Clark County Fire Department would not release the name of manufacturer or the location of the booth that sold the fireworks because they are still looking into the matter, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Robert Leinbach said.

Leinbach said the manufacturer that supplied the booth cited a misunderstanding for allowing unapproved fireworks to reach Clark County consumers. He added the supplier thought the fireworks in question had been tested and approved. He would not say whether the item was Ammo Smoke.

However, a spokesman for the company that manufactures Ammo Smoke, the item used in the county's demonstration, said the TNT Fireworks product is not considered a firework but a federally deregulated novelty item. It can be bought in stores such as Sam's Club, so that particular product would not be on the Clark County list, Dennis Revell said.

All items considered fireworks sold in Clark County are tested by the fire department, and the department determines what is considered a firework, Leinbach said.

He added that even novelty items have the potential to be dangerous.

Firework tests conducted by Clark County make sure the product does not leave the ground or move beyond a 10-foot radius, the item cannot tip over easily and the item must have a tight fuse located inside the body of the firework, Blackmon said.

"We test three of the same item but only one needs to fail," Blackmon said for the item to be unapproved.

For local vendors to be selling unapproved fireworks is rare, Leinbach said. When it does occur, it's usually due to communication error where an approved item is left off the final list, he said.

"We have a good working relationship with manufacturers and vendors," Leinbach said. He added it was in everyone's best interest to comply with county regulations.

Tim Szymanski of the Las Vegas Fire Department agreed and said the only problem he has seen with "Safe and Sane" fireworks sales are booths without permits.

Dave Bradshaw, a manager at Phantom Fireworks, one of the companies that supply local vendors, said one of his items, Krakotoa, an $11 fountain firework, was mistakenly left off the approval list but the problem was rectified.

Bradshaw added that fireworks from Phantom that are not approved "never make it out" to local vendors.

In some cases, Bradshaw said, unapproved fireworks may have been older models that were one time OK to sell but failed tests this year.

Or Szymanski said they could have been bought out of state or in another county. Nevada is the only state that does not have a state law regulating fireworks, so enforcement is done county by county.

Since fireworks went on sale Saturday fireworks-related fires have caused $57,000 worth of damage in the Clark County Fire Department's jurisdiction, Leinbach said. Last year from June 27-July 4 only $1,400 was lost.

The bulk of this year's damage is the result of the tractor-trailer loss, he said.

Szymanski said this year he has seen only one injury and no damage, but he added "it's still early." Last year, he said, a two-alarm fire started by children playing with novelty items such as smoke bombs caused $35,000 damage to an apartment building.

Each year damage is caused by a combination of legal and illegal fireworks, he added.