Firework use illegal within Jefferson City and Columbia city limits

It is just one week away from the Fourth of July, and for many people celebrating the holiday that means fireworks.

If you live in Jefferson City or Columbia, it is illegal to use them within city limits.

But the Jefferson City Police Department said it is difficult to enforce.

JCPD said it has gotten a lot of calls for people violating that law in years’ past and it does not expect this year to be any different. But officers are kept very busy with other calls during the holiday weekend and responding to the fireworks violations may not be top priority, according to Capt. Doug Shoemaker.

“The thing we’re most concerned with is the issue of safety on the Fourth of July because a lot of times people will set them off and not think of the after effects of what happens with the fireworks,” Shoemaker said.

Around the July Fourth holiday, an average of 230 people a day go to the emergency room for fireworks-related injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

“Our concern of course is that then it starts a fire and then we have some people who may lose property, who may be injured and then all of a sudden the relatively simplistic firework becomes a major and serious hazard,” Shoemaker said.

Jefferson City police respond to fireworks violations on a complaint and observation basis. But with the busy holiday weekend, it may take a while for officers to respond to one of these calls.

“The calls for fireworks we certainly will get to, but of course the triage order of things is a disturbance comes before the fireworks when somebody’s physically maybe being hurt,” Shoemaker said. “Plus the sheer number of them that come in becomes, it becomes quite an enormous amount.”

And if you do shoot off fireworks outside city limits, Shoemaker said to make sure you are prepared for the possible dangers.

“Make sure that they’re very cautious where they do it and who’s around and to take precautions that if a fire were to start, they would be able to put that fire out very quickly,” Shoemaker said.

Mid-Missouri fire officials also emphasized the importance of keeping a bucket of water or an extinguisher on hand when using fireworks this coming weekend because of the recent dry weather.

You could face a range of fines if you are caught using fireworks within city limits, according to JCPD.