Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Fireworks are like rubbing salt in a wound for many residents of the Valley from Scottsdale to Buckeye, Cave Creek to Queen Creek. The major reason for the intense dislike is the misuse of them. Fireworks that shoot into the sky are illegal, yet many revelers persist in using them. They are noisy and a fire hazard. Add to that the extremely long periods when it is legal to shoot them off. It makes for a combination that many Valley residents are fed up with.

Here is the law as it exists:

“36-1606. Consumer fireworks regulation; state preemption; further regulation of fireworks by local jurisdiction

1. The sale and use of permissible consumer fireworks are of statewide concern. The regulation of permissible consumer fireworks pursuant to this article and their sale or use is not subject to further regulation by a governing body, except as follows:
2. In a county with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons (This applies to Maricopa County), a city or town within its corporate limits or the county within the unincorporated areas of the county may do all of the following:

(a) Regulate, consistent with the standards set forth in NFPA 1124, the sale of permissible consumer fireworks within its corporate limits.

(b) Prohibit the sale of permissible consumer fireworks on days other than April 25 through May 6, May 20 through July 6 and December 10 through January 3 of each year and two days before the first day of Diwali through the third day of Diwali each year.

(c) Prohibit the use of permissible consumer fireworks on days other than May 4 through May 6, June 24 through July 6 and December 26 through January 4 of each year and the second and third days of Diwali of each year.

(d) Prohibit on all days the use of permissible consumer fireworks within a one-mile radius of the border of preservation lands owned by a city or town that has purchased more than fifteen thousand acres of land for preservation purposes.

(e) Prohibit on all days during a stage one or higher fire restriction the use of permissible consumer fireworks within a one-mile radius of the border of any municipal or county mountain preserve, desert park, regional park, designated conservation area, national forest or wilderness area.

(f) Prohibit on all days the use of permissible consumer fireworks between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., except:

(i) Between the hours of 11:00 p.m. on December 31 of each year through 1:00 a.m. on January 1 of each year.

(ii) Between the hours of 11:00 p.m. on July 4 of each year through 1:00 a.m. on July 5 of each year.

2. In a county with a population of less than five hundred thousand persons, a city or town within its corporate limits or the county within the unincorporated areas of the county may do all of the following: ( I have deleted this portion as it does not apply to Maricopa County.)

1. A governing body that chooses to regulate, consistent with the requirements set forth in NFPA 1124 and subsection A of this section, the sale or use of permissible consumer fireworks may not require any additional signage requirements for the sale or use of permissible consumer fireworks other than those signage requirements stipulated in NFPA 1124, except that additional signage that is eight and one-half inches by eleven inches in size, that is on cardstock paper in landscape orientation, that lists the days of that year that are described in subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section relating to the time frame surrounding Diwali and that contains the following language on a contrasting background may be posted by the retail sales display of permissible consumer fireworks:

State of Arizona Consumer Fireworks Regulations Arizona Revised Statutes section 36-1601, et al. The use of permissible consumer fireworks as defined under state law is allowed:                                                                                                                                                          May 4 – May 6, June 24 — July 6 and December 26 — January 4 

                                              The sale of permissible consumer fireworks as defined under state law is allowed:   

             April 25 – May 6, May 20 — July 6 and December 10 — January 3 

                                        All other fireworks are prohibited, except as authorized by local fire department permit.

The sale and use of novelties known as snappers (pop-its), party poppers, glow worms, snakes, toy smoke devices and sparklers are permitted at all times. Permissible consumer fireworks may not be sold to persons under sixteen years of age. Check with your local fire department for additional regulations and dates before using.

1. This article does not prohibit the imposition by ordinance of further regulations and prohibitions by a governing body on the sale, use and possession of fireworks other than permissible consumer fireworks. A governing body may not allow or authorize the sale, use or possession of any fireworks in violation of this article.”

There are three major problems with this law. The first is, in Maricopa County, it is permissible to use fireworks for 22 days a year. That’s nearly a month. Is this necessary? No. I don’t know about you but growing up we celebrated the 4^th of July and New Year’s Eve only. We didn’t celebrate for weeks at time. Why does the state legislature allow the sale and use of fireworks for weeks? It appears that some state legislators have interests within the fireworks manufacturing and sales communities. They apparently have had enough influence to ram through extended sales and use periods to increase profit margins in that industry. In other words, all for a buck.

The second issue is the inclusion of more holidays than necessary. Cinco de Mayo? Diwali? When people come to America for a better and more prosperous life they should assimilate. They are becoming American and need to embrace American culture. That, in and of itself, is a whole separate issue. Again, inclusion of other holidays, not part of our American culture, does not encourage immigrants to assimilate.

I am of Polish descent. When my Polish grandparents came to America, they did not presume to establish Polish holidays in this country. They became Americans and fully embraced what it was to be an American. The only two times fireworks should be permissible are New Year’s Eve and the 4^th of July from the hours of 7 PM to midnight. That’s it. No exceptions.

The third issue is the types of fireworks being used. When we were kids and celebrated these two holidays, we ran around with sparklers and the adults used ground-based firecrackers. No one used aerial fireworks. The current law stipulates that aerial fireworks are prohibited in Arizona for sale or use. Yet people use them extensively. Since they cannot obtain them in Arizona, they go to Mexico or other states where it is legal to purchase them. For instance, the residents behind our home use aerials. The problem is that when the police are called, they have to see the offence in order to cite. By the time officers arrive the illegal act has long stopped. No police department has the resources to deal with illegal fireworks. That is just a fact of life. So everyone throws their hands up in utter frustration.

In addition, aerial fireworks can be dangerous and a fire safety hazard. We all have either heard or read about someone’s house or patio that caught fire because of the embers of aerials ending up on a roof. Add to that, loud aerials scare pets. Most of us who do have dogs put them inside during fireworks periods. During these periods more dogs run away than any other time of year.

What can be done? The people must rise up to speak and to push the Arizona legislature to change the law. How? A group of people should lead this charge by drafting changes in the law and then circulating those changes in the form of an initiative petition to bring this issue and the proposed changes to a vote of the people. It’s not easy and requires a lot of work and organization but others have done it successfully on other issues. There are a lot of people fed up with the use of illegal fireworks and the excessive time periods when they can be used.

We saw in our last national election that when enough people band together, they can effect change.

^{© Joyce Clark, 2025}   

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