Howell Fire That May Have Been Caused By Fireworks Under Investigation

HOWELL, NJ — Fire officials here are still investigating the cause of a fire at a Citation Street home on July 4 that may have been caused by fireworks set off too close to the home.

Capt. Brian Prochnow, deputy fire marshal for Howell, said the cause of the fire is still not determined, although he said that fireworks - both aerial and non-aerial fireworks - were going off in the Oak Hill neighborhood at the time. He said aerial fireworks are illegal in New Jersey for personal use.

According to a post on the Howell Happenings site, neighbors woke up the residents to warn them to get out of the house. Pets inside were safe. The fire was put out with a hose.

A GoFundMe site to help the family with repairs to the home and a car has been set up by Jennifer Ellison of Lancaster, Pa., who said her aunt Tara Pappas owns the home. The site can be located here.

According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, here are some New Jersey laws regarding fireworks:

• AGE TO PURCHASE – 16 or older
• PERMITTED – "Wood stick and wire sparklers with no more than 100 grams of pyrotechnic composition; other hand-held or ground-based sparkling devices which are non-explosive and non-aerial, which may produce a crackling or whistling effect, and which contain 75 grams or less of pyrotechnic composition per tube or a total of 500 grams or less for multiple tubes; snakes, glow worms and smoke devices and trick noisemakers, which include party poppers, snappers and drop pops, each consisting of 25/100 grains or less of explosive mixture."
• PROHIBITED – "All consumer fireworks not specifically permitted, including torpedoes, firecrackers, skyrockets, aerial devices and fireworks containing yellow or white phosphorous or mercury."