Fullerton’s Fireworks Ban: More Harm Than Good?

The booming and crackling of widespread civil disobedience on the 4th of July is difficult to ignore. Today we received this observation from a law-abiding but frustrated citizen who says it’s only fair to either enforce the ban or eliminate it altogether.

Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.

Hello Friends for Fullerton’s Future,

I am concerned about the amount of illegal 4th of July fireworks that lit up the sky in my neighborhood last night.

I understand the ban of safe and sane fireworks in our city for the benefit and protection of dangers posed to the Fullerton hillsides and open space, we explain this to our children as the reason we cannot light fireworks in front of our own home. My problem is that in response to this ban, we now have illegal fireworks launched above our home all night with seemingly no enforcement of the no fireworks law. This is more dangerous than the safe fireworks sold as fundraisers for local groups in a booth and depletes my credibility as a parent explaining to my children with tears in their eyes why we are following the rules when is seems no one around us is doing the same.

I think is it time for Fullerton to review this no fireworks policy, maybe there are regions of the city that can have legal fireworks, like mine a 1950’s single story home neighborhood near Brookhurst and Orangethorpe where there is not a hillside in site. If the illegal fireworks will be going off over head any way then let my family have the fun of at home fireworks too.

Our family purchased a home in Fullerton just over four years ago; we moved in right before the 4th of July, purchased our fireworks at a booth on Orangethorpe, which as it turns out was Buena Park. On the evening of the 4th, we were all set on the front lawn with our chairs, bucket of water for safety and fireworks, we lit the first one and a Fullerton police car immediately pulled up to tell us that we were breaking the law and could not light fireworks in Fullerton. Now, four years later it’s like I’m living at Disneyland with fireworks fling overhead and M-80’s rocking my windows, not a police car in site.

I am looking for a better enforced ban on fireworks in Fullerton or a change to this policy in the future. That way I can look my kids in the eye and tell them the truth, we are not allowed to light fireworks in Fullerton.

27 Replies to “Fullerton’s Fireworks Ban: More Harm Than Good?”

  1. This is going to cause more confusion than a mouse at a Burlesque show.

    The p-o-lice, the Boss Man that is, can’t work- I say cannot work overtime these days. Like your fireworks, its against the reg-U-lations, the law that is.

  2. Same here in Anaheim. I was up all night with the little jerks shooting them into the air. The humidity just made the noise boom even worse, no sleep. I live in a historic district filled with rooflines that still sport wood shingles, nervous does not begin to describe it! And the cops here do NOTHING, you watch them drive past where the shots are going off overhead, they do not even slow down. Fullerton is not alone, something needs to change.

  3. If the cops can’t enforce the law all the time, then the law just isn’t worth having on the books. Compton go toke up.

    If this guy truly lives in that area of town, he has more important things to worry about then fireworks going off on the 4th of July. Why doesn’t this guy write an update on August 4th and see how many fireworks go off in his neighborhood. My guess if he hears anything, it will be gunfire.

    I guess 4F’s is running out of things to write about. Now they are scrapping the bottom of the barrel to post this shit.

    1. “If the cops can’t enforce the law all the time, then the law just isn’t worth having on the books.”

      Selective enforcement: putting Man back into the Rule of Law.

    2. No, this site scrapes the bottom of the barrel when it writes about the GED cops. But it’s a public service and has to be done.

    3. I totally agree! Jerks who are thoughtless, selfish and don’t care my cat ran away. They have the intelligence of a sweaty dirty gym shoe–lose a finger and you’ll start thinking about others! 🙁

    1. For God’s sake, for our children’s sake yes!
      I was just RUDELY told by 911 when reporting illegal fireworks that I would be:
      “added to the list of people cited for making a non-emergency call to 911.”

      As if they care that they’re scaring our pets or some kid’s finger gets blown off or burnt. Or a house sets on fire. I hope something happens (short of serious injury or death) to get their butts in gear. They scared my cat away years ago, but they don’t care unless it’s the Chief of Police’s wife’s cat!
      God help Fullerton from future harm!

  4. Walking by the police parking lot (apprehensively in the open after hearing repeated gun shot blended with the M80 explosions) I noticed that there were more cop cars parked than would normally be seen on a weekend of drunken frat boys cruising for assault victims. And I even noted a not-small group of officers clustered in the back of the lot watching the show on display at the high school. (You know, the fencing doesn’t make you invisible, officers…) All around them the sound of illegal fireworks and an occasional weapon discharging in the air, and they stood there ooooh-ing and ahh-ing at the pretty pretty lights.

    1. I was rudely told by 911 when reporting illegal fireworks that I would be added to the list of people cited for making non-emergency call to 911. As if they care that they’re scaring our pets or some kid’s finger gets blown off or burnt. Or house set on fire. I hope something happens (short of serious injury or death) to get their butts in gear.
      God help Fullerton from future harm!

  5. Laws like the fireworks ban and the watering ban make the city feel like it’s doing something to stop the civic deterioration of Fullerton without offending anyone, like the gangstas, the vagrants, etc.

    They keep harassing the decent, law abiding citizens and then scratch their heads, gee, why do we have so much crime here??

    Nobody is fooled.

  6. No Travis, I’d say you scrapped the bottom of the barrel on fireworks.

    I see the massive hits on your seven walls of silliness that you’ve been posting. I’ll bet you guys think you’re doing the city a great service posting that shit too.

    Would you please post the final wall so I can plagiarize the shit out of it. I have to write a paper so I can get my GED.

    1. Since you undoubtedly work for FPD you must already have that GED, and maybe even a drunk driving conviction or two under your belt.

      Glad to see you are following the Seven Walls – you might learn something, although some of those big words are probably causing some embarrassment around the station.

  7. Agree with the original complaint of so many illegal fireworks going off throughout the night. You could hear them and see them throughout the city…not just by Brookhurst and Orangethorpe. In trying to uphold the law explaining to children and grandchildren that fireworks are illegal and cannot be set off by a private party, makes us sound crazy when so many citizens of Fullerton are doing it…and seem to be getting away with it.

  8. Exactly Chris Thompson. Even go as far as to have areas to light the fireworks. School parking lots and other open areas.Its like if you ban guns law abiding people wont have them but the crimnals will. Us law abiding people dont have fireworks. If you are going to break the law why not get the dangerous high powered ones. @ cherry bomb. I have lived in this area for 45 yrs and its not really that bad.

  9. “Safe and sane” or not, one thing overlooked in the discussion is the huge amount of smoke generated by most fireworks. It’s a significant side effect for many people who value clean air in their lungs.

    There were so many aerial fireworks flying over Fullerton that it was difficult to figure out what was a city sponsored display and what was just a bunch of douchebags lighting potential firebombs over our homes. There was either no will or no ability to stop it anywhere in the city.

  10. There are 2 of my favorite Councilmen in Orange trying to end the ban on fireworks and have been trying for 3 years. Denis Bilodeau and Jon Dumitru believe in freedoms and in allowing us to celebrate our indepence from a overbearing government…image that!

  11. people are going to light fireworks regardless. might as well make the safe-and-sane fireworks legal so that maybe the majority will buy these more accessible types rather than the bottlerockets and pro-shells that were being shot in the air last night all over the place. ending the ban on safe and sane types, might actually reduce the current use of what would still be illegal type fireworks.

  12. I’m not s party pooper and like the 4th ad much as anyone else but I don’t appreciate someone setting off legal fireworks weeks before and after the 4th at all hours of the night. I live in Anaheim and liked it better when there was a complete ban on all fireworks. Yes it seems the cops do nothing and talking to them on the phone I said would go out and find the person setting them off and deal with them my way. Since they apparently can’t do their job. They were offended but wad thinking why not use drones to find these assholes? Take video and turn them in. Meaning the cops should use the drones. Not sure how people buy these illegal fireworks on other states but of its like s firework stand make it mandatory to provide ID which is then copied and saved
    If you have a Calif I’d license now its on record you bought illegal fireworks. All the cops have to.do is acquire the info and arrest these assholes. If you want to buy and lit them off do it in the state you bought them in.

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