Officials remind New Englanders of fireworks laws
By Bianca Buono
@BBuonoABC6
The Fourth of July is just over a week away. One of the most exciting parts of the holiday: the fireworks; but officials in Massachusetts are reminding New Englanders that it’s illegal for private citizens in the Bay State to have them.
"The problem we have with legal fireworks being sold over the line in Rhode Island and New Hampshire is it’s very easy to transport them into Massachusetts which is illegal,” said Lt. Richard Rego of the Swansea Fire Department.
Rego says they’re illegal because Massachusetts is a leader when it comes to fire prevention.
"It’ll take Massachusetts ten years or so to see the injuries some of those states see in one year as a result of it being harder to get fireworks in Massachusetts,” said Rego.
Fireworks are fairly new to Rhode Island. They became legal back in 2010 but there are strict guidelines in place.
"Everything is fountain we can’t sell anything that leaves the ground,” said Arnaldo Tavarez of Phantom Fireworks.
That means stores don’t carry anything that explodes or shoots into the sky. Keith Lambert, owner of RI Fireworks, says Massachusetts natives frequent his stores and he offers them a piece of advice.
"If they want to enjoy the Rhode Island legal fireworks, the best thing to do is to buy the product here and light them off in Rhode Island. That’s pretty much my best suggestion,” Lambert said.
© WLNE-TV 2016
