By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor
While fireworks are normally associated with the Fourth of July, there are some people taking their use to the extreme. For weeks now, communities throughout South Jersey are experiencing the excessive use of fireworks late into the evening. They’re coming from all over: Philly, Camden, Palmyra, Merchantville, and right here in Pennsauken. Not only are they disturbing the peace, their use is promoting dangerous behavior in our neighborhoods.
“I hear them. You hear them. The police hear them,” explains Pennsauken Mayor Tim Killion. “It’s terribly frustrating each night having fireworks explode over and over. It’s waking up our kids and scaring our pets. It has to stop.”
The responsible use of sparklers and novelty fireworks you buy from a retail store, like Wal-Mart, or a supermarket is legal in New Jersey. The sale, possession, or use of other fireworks: Roman candles, mortars, rockets, repeaters, and the like, is 100 percent illegal. Improper use can cause serious and permanent injuries to people, as well as significant damage to property. And the penalties for getting caught with them are pretty significant. If you sell, possess, or use illegal fireworks, it’s a crime in the fourth degree. If charged, individuals can pay up to $10,000 in fines and spend up to 18 months in jail.
Pennsauken also has a noise ordinance in place. According to the Township code, prohibited noises are those that are “loud, unnecessary or unusual.” Disallowed noises “create any unreasonably loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noise of such character, intensity, or duration as is detrimental to the life or health of any individual or persons within the limits of the Township of Pennsauken or is patently offensive to persons or ordinary sensibilities.”
Fireworks that create loud noises cannot be used anytime between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Fines for loud and prohibited noises can go up to $1,250 and in extreme cases, include community service or jail time.
“As neighbors and residents, we have a social contract built on mutual respect. When that contract is broken, like what is happening each night with the fireworks, we need you to speak up and let the police know if fireworks are being used illegally,” says Killion.
Pennsauken’s police are working on this issue, but they can’t be everywhere. They need the community’s help to stop illegal fireworks as they happen. If fireworks are being lit illegally in your neighborhood, contact the Pennsauken Township Police as the fireworks occur at (856) 663-1234 and provide as many details as possible.
