Backyard fireworks: Amateur pyrotechnic displays growing in scope —
Thanks to an increase in the legal limit of the amount of pyrotechnic material allowed in consumer fireworks — the kind purchased in roadside trucks and shot off private lawns — a whole new class of recreational explosive has become available to amateur enthusiasts, said Harry Chang of Black Cat Fireworks Inc.
At the same time, the use of backyard fireworks has more than doubled since 2000, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. That has caused concern among some public safety groups that the rise in both popularity and firepower could prove a combustible mix.
"It's like how Giorgio Armani might develop a pair of jeans that the average person could never have, but eventually lesser designers come out with their own versions," Chang said. "Over the years, smaller, safer versions of professional fireworks have trickled down to consumers."
Julie Heckman, executive director of the pyrotechnic industry group, credits the growing popularity of fireworks to a rise in patriotism after the millennium celebrations followed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Chief among recent innovations is the multishot aerial, shooting rockets of varying hues up to 100 yards in the air. Chang called it a "display in a box," and they range from a few dollars for multishot flaming balls to upward of $100.
Backyard pyrotechnicians can also find fireworks in a wider variety of colors, including magenta, lemonade and the difficult to create deep blue, along with effects that were once the sole purview of professionals, like rockets that burst into bow ties, stars and happy faces.
But not everyone's smiling. In Cynthia D'Amour's neighborhood in Ann Arbor, Mich., the holiday displays make the air smell for days and turn her Chihuahua-pug mix, Raindrop, into a nervous wreck. She sends Raindrop to stay with her parents, away from the noise.
"It isn't fair we have to give up our dog or drug her so a bunch of normally nice folks can be yahoos for a few hours," says D'Amour, 43.
The growing use of fireworks has been helped by looser laws. Five states have opened to fireworks or relaxed laws since 2000, Heckman said, though Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island still ban them completely out of safety concerns.
Doug Edelman of St. Peters, Mo., chalks up excessive noise to teenagers with M-80s and bottle rockets, not more sophisticated home displays.
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