John Ferguson sat in the McDonald’s parking lot Tuesday on Jane Trail and observed four or five separate fireworks displays lighting up the night sky over Danville.
There’s a pretty good chance that at least some of those big boomers were sold by Ferguson himself at the Cornerstone Assembly of God fireworks tent set up in the Walmart parking lot. A¿change in Kentucky law this year makes it legal to sell the kind of bang that folks used to drive to Tennessee or Ohio to purchase.
There have been more than 800 permits to sell Class C fireworks in Kentucky issued by the state fire marshal’s office. Five of them have set up tents in Danville. Two of them are operated by churches as fundraisers — Cornerstone and the Church of God on Fourth Street — while the other three are private enterprises.
Displays like the ones Ferguson witnessed have always occurred leading up to the Fourth of July holiday, but they are occurring earlier and with more frequency now that bigger fireworks are readily available, police and fire officials said.
“That kind of thing is going on all over the state right now,” said Danville Fire Chief Woody Ball.
Assistant Police Chief Tony Gray said officers have been responding to more noise complaints and possible gunshots this year.
“I don’t have any numbers in front of me, but it seems to me that, because of the change in the law, we are taking more calls earlier than we have in the past,” Gray said Wednesday. “It has increased the call volume. And any time someone says ‘I think I heard a gunshot,’ that’s at least a two-officer call, so it does make for some extra work.”
While the new law is adding some burden to police and fire departments, it is giving others a chance to make, or save, some money.
Brenda and Donald Cundiff of Dunnville in Casey County spent $62 on fireworks at the Cornerstone tent Wednesday morning. The couple don’t always shoot off fireworks on the Fourth, but when they have in the past, they always drove to Tennessee to get the good stuff. Being able to make the purchase in Danville saved them time and gas money when they decided to put on a little show this holiday season, they said.
“I’m just in a festive mood, I guess,” Brenda Cundiff said. “Maybe because of all the rain we’ve had, but I want to have a little fun this year.”
Pam Lane said Cornerstone has been selling fireworks at Walmart for nearly 20 years, usually raising between $7,000 and $8,000 annually to help fund mission trips. With a bigger and better arsenal on hand this year, Lane said the tent has been busier than usual.
Cornerstone and the Church of God both use TNT Fireworks of Florence, Ala., as their supplier. Lane said TNT specializes in non-profit fundraising and provides the inventory, tents and signage, and training for its representatives, which get to keep 20 percent of what they sell.
Across the way at Danville Manor shopping center, Stephen Hawkins and Brian Hostutler of Virginia are manning a fireworks tent operated by Tracy and Jason Foust of Knoxville, Tenn. The Fousts have four tents in Tennessee and, this year, five in Kentucky, Hawkins said.
“It’s been pretty steady so far, but everybody says that a couple of days before the Fourth, it will really get packed,” Hawkins said.
Recent graduates of Virginia Tech University, Hostutler and Hawkins said they got the job selling fireworks by answering a Craigslist ad for a summer job. They were looking for a little adventure before they begin their real careers. They got to Danville a week ago and have been sleeping in a pup tent beside the fireworks tent and taking showers at the truck stop.
“We open when we wake up and close when we go to bed,” Hawkins said. “It’s something different. It’s been kinda fun, hanging out here and meeting new people.”
Ball, the fire chief, said there was some confusion over the new law when vendors started showing up last week.
“All of a sudden, tents started popping up,” he said. “There was a learning curve for us, the state fire marshal and the fireworks people.”
To sell fireworks in Danville, a vendor must get a state permit for $250, a Danville permit for $100, a $25 city business license and a Planning and Zoning fee based on the square-footage of the tent. Some cities such as Owensboro and Bowling Green charge $1,000 or more to sell fireworks, Ball said.
“We wanted to be business-friendly," he said.
P&Z put temporary stop work orders on three of the vendors because they hadn’t paid all their fees, but that confusion was cleared up early on, and there have no problems since, Ball said. The businesses are inspected upon opening and regularly thereafter, he said.
City Fire Marshal Ken Pflug said he doesn’t expect any more injuries or problems related to fireworks this year just because bigger ones are available locally.
Pflug compared fireworks sales to alcohol sales in that folks who like fireworks are willing to travel to get them. Having them available locally helps keep some of that revenue home and gives local government more control over how and where they are sold, he said. Plus, people who don’t care for fireworks are not likely to start shooting them off this year just because they are easier to get, so local sales are not going to significantly increase the number of people who use them, Pflug said.
Fireworks schedule
Lincoln County: 10:30 p.m. Monday at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds
Boyle County: 9:40 p.m. Monday at the Boyle County Fairgrounds; attendees should park at Millennium Park. In case of rain, fireworks will be set off Tuesday.
Casey County: Thunder on the Green Fireworks Show on Monday at Central Kentucky Ag/Expo Center
Garrard County: dusk Saturday at Herrington Lake Marina; and dark Monday at Lancaster-Garrard County Recreation Park on U.S. 27 south of Lancaster.
Mercer County: Fourth of July Celebration at dusk Sunday at Anderson-Dean Community Park.
Fireworks prohibited
The Danville-Boyle County Parks and Recreation Department reminds the community that all fireworks are prohibited in Millennium Park, including snaps, sparklers and firecrackers. A sign has been erected at the park’s entrance noting fireworks are prohibited.
