Revisited: Q&A of the Day

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's Q and A of the day legal versus illegal
use of fireworks in Florida. This is brought to you
by the listen ashes check mark collections each day on
a feature and listener questions sent by one of these methods.
You may email me Brian mud at iHeartMedia dot com.
May hit me up on social app Brian Mit Radio
Getter Parlor in Twitter. You may also use the iHeartRadio app.

(00:21):
Just go to WJNO. Inside the iHeartRadio app, tap on
the microphone button. You may lay down your message right there,
perhaps for future Q and A. Today's note. I could
have taken one of several that I received on this subject,
but anyway, I chose this one. Brian. Something I'd like
you to look into if you're a Q and A.

(00:42):
What's the law on fireworks? Seems like more people are
just firing them off whenever they want, including all times
of the day and night. Okay, so this isn't the
first time I've covered this topic in the Q and A.
In January of twenty twenty, fresh off of that year's
New Year's I received a similar note from a frustrated listener.

(01:03):
What is different is Florida's law pertaining to fireworks use
since then, which is likely contributing to what you've perceived
to be increased use of fireworks. Seemingly indiscriminate use of
fireworks would be an annoyance anytime you're trying to sleep
or maybe just focus on things. If you're talking about

(01:24):
some of the stuff during the day, I know I
heard some of that too. People like testing things, I
think in advance, but especially if you have an early
start to a work day, as many of us do.
Flora's law on fireworks works like this. First, non aerial
and non explosive fireworks are illegal for anyone to buy

(01:48):
at any time. This provides a basis of legitimacy for
the industry stay wide. Still, it's not handheld sparklers that
are annoying you the way that you're depicting. So it's
real deal of fireworks, which are generally illegal for people
to use under Florida's current law. When we take a

(02:10):
look at what the definition of a firework is, there
are two definitions. First, fireworks under state law. This is
direct state statute means and includes any combustible or explosive
composition or substance or combination of substances prepared for the

(02:30):
purpose of producing a visible or audio effect by combustion, expulsion,
or detonation. Okay, if it combusts, if it explodes, if
it detonates, and it makes a visible or audio effect,
that is a firework. In the state of Florida. These
second definition fireworks does not include sparklers, toy pistols, toy cans,

(02:54):
toy guns, and other devices in which paper caps containing
to twenty five hundreds grains or less of explosive compound
or used, providing that they are so constructed that the
hand cannot come in contact with the cap in place
for the explosion. A toy pistol which contains less than

(03:18):
twenty hundreds grains of explosive mixture shall be permitted at
all times. Okay, I'm not an expert on this kind
of thing, but what I'll tell you is that's very little,
very little cabustible material that's inside it there. Okay. There
are three exemptions to Forda's ban on aerial and explosive fireworks,

(03:44):
permitted events, military application, and agricultural exemptions. The change with
twenty twenty's law, which is likely behind the increased use
in many neighborhoods as you perceived, is that there are
three days per year where there's a right to unrestricted
use New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and July fourth.

(04:08):
Now here's the thing. It's evident some people are using
them outside of just those days. In fact, even last
night I heard some people around the neighborhood that were
still doing it. Not a bunch, but some. This included
fireworks that I have a bunch of reports on yesterday
coming in well past midnight July fourth into the morning yesterday.

(04:32):
So it's not hard to spot or hear illegally use fireworks.
The question, like many laws on the books, is whether
they're enforced now in the case of fireworks, commonly not.
But it's not just about fireworks. Local noise ordinances may
often come into play as well, aside from municipal restrict restrictions,
which may be more restrictive than county standards. All of

(04:54):
Southward A restricts noise to night and early mornings outside
of hollow They exemptions that have been provided often for
their own cities to do their own firework displays. Those
times are and Brownward from ten pm to seven am.
In Miami Dade it's eleven pm to seven am, and

(05:15):
here in Palm Beach County now the court County ordinance
is eight pm eight pm until seven am. So if
you're surrounded by inconsiderate neighbors who continue to fire off
fireworks at all hours of night, you are well within
your right to report it to the police. When fireworks
are involved, they're very well may be multiple violations of

(05:36):
law that are taking place, but yes, what you're experiencing
is likely a byproduct of simply more people having more
legal access to fireworks based on twenty twenty's law, who
are in turn using them when they shouldn't be. No doubt,
little courtesy and consideration would go a long way. We
know that there are some of those people out there

(05:58):
just are not very concern right,