Fireworks Tents Will Be Forbidden In Warminster

WARMINSTER, PA —You still see them in parking lots in the region.

These are the tents that pop up for certain holidays, either selling flowers for Mother's Day or fireworks for the Fourth of July.

Not anymore.

"The tents we see on the Fourth of July are no longer permitted," Township Manager Tom Scott told township supervisors at its meeting last month.

With a change in the state's Fireworks Law, fireworks can only be sold from standalone, permanent structures licensed by the Department of Agriculture.

Consumer fireworks may also be purchased through online, mail-order, or other transactions, but the delivery of consumer fireworks to a purchaser shall take place at a licensed, permanent structure.

Scott urged supervisors to authorize changing the zoning ordinance to remove consumer fireworks from being sold in the township.

Those are considered “Class C” or “consumer-grade” fireworks such as firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets, and similar fireworks that contain a maximum of 50 milligrams of explosive material.

"We'll have to do a clean sweep," he said. "We will no longer honor applications."

"I think it's a good thing," Supervisors Chairman Kenneth Hayes said.

Supervisor Janice Charlton said that it can be difficult for the Warminster Township Police Department to enforce the fireworks tents, in which Police Chief James Donnelly gave her a thumbs up.

Consumers are not allowed to purchase “display fireworks,” which light up the sky during the holiday in various municipalities throughout Bucks County.

Those display fireworks are classified as containing more than two grains or 130 milligrams of explosive materials, and professional-grade aerial shells containing more than 60 grams of pyrotechnic compositions.

According to state law, they are only to be used by professionals with a permit from the municipality where the display will take place.

Councilman Mark McKee said he was surprised that Pennsylvania even allowed consumer fireworks sales.

"I could never believe they legalized fireworks in Pennsylvania," McKee said. "In a post-9/11 world, let's legalize explosives."