State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason announced that fireworks enforcement efforts have started.
The State Police Bomb Squad is part of the Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit [F&EIU] assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, which has already started working with local police and fire departments to enforce the fireworks laws and intercept fireworks being brought into the state illegally.
The State Police Bomb Squad reported a 63% increase in response to fireworks calls in 2020 over 2019. During the F&EIU 2020 fireworks enforcement operation, there were 47 criminal summonses issued over a 4-day period.
This year’s enforcement operation has already started and will last longer.
In the past decade (2011-2020), there have been 941 major fire and explosion incidents involving illegal fireworks reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System [MFIRS]. The incidents caused 12 civilian injuries, 42 fire service injuries, and an estimated dollar loss of $2.1 million, which is high considering most fireworks fires are outdoor brush fires.
There were several reports of illegal fireworks use in Worcester during summer 2020, including one incident of fireworks being thrown at others.
Image Credit “BOOTIFULL EPIC FIREWORKS KIT” by Epic Fireworks is licensed under CC BY 2.0
