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No sparks flying here—fireworks are still far from legal in NC.
Bad news for locals—and good news for the lineup of fireworks stores along our southern border: Fireworks don’t look to be legal in NC anytime soon. Instead, the longstanding explosive debate remains, despite unrestricted access below (score one, SC).
No doubt a potential economic boon for our state—data from the American Pyrotechnics Association shows the fireworks industry has seen an annual revenue growth in consumer fireworks from $407 million in 2000 to $2.3 billion in 2022—bills regarding the legality of fireworks have been introduced by legislators almost annually for years to no avail, thanks to lobbying by such groups as North Carolinians for Fireworks Safety.
Sure, NC has legalized controversial products and services of late in the name of benefiting the economy (see: sports betting), but legal fireworks and roadside NC stands remain but a pipe dream.
The lore behind these restrictions actually dates back to a circa-1931 incident in Iowa (!)involving a dropped sparkler that ignited a pile of fireworks, thus sparking a blaze that leveled 80 businesses and clocked over $2 million in damages. Perhaps as expected, legislators and emergency responders cite such high risk of fires and personal injuries among the reasons popular pyrotechnics aren’t any closer to becoming legal.
“The dangers range from children losing fingers and parents losing eyes to shooting aerial fireworks and [having them] land in a barn, the roof of a house or in the gutter with pine needles and setting the house, barn or whatever on fire,” says Tim Bradley, executive director of the North Carolina State Firefighters’ Association.
In 2022, 10,200 Americans were treated in emergency rooms for firework-related injuries, with 11 of those injuries resulting in death. Naturally, summer is prime time for such afflictions, with a whopping 73% of incidents occurring in the weeks before and after Independence Day.
For those still looking to get their spark on in NC, there are currently a limited amount of small fireworks sold and legal within state lines—think wire sparklers, glow worms, smoke bombs and trick noisemakers. Many North Carolinians still find ways to get their hands on more exciting explosives (another s/o to The Palmetto State!), and while it is usually all in the name of celebration, violators can face a misdemeanor charge, a $500 fine and up to six months in jail. But rumor has it you will only get in trouble if someone gets hurt (!).
Ultimately, it looks like NC will opt to kill the spark in the name of safety for the foreseeable future. So explosive-leaning residents will have to cross their fingers on the Fourth that a bolder neighbor stocked up over the border—or make plans to party via city-run fireworks shows and leave the pyrotechnics to the professionals.
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