By Helen Wilbers
During recent Fulton City Council meetings, two Fulton residents said that a "fireworks war" property and people in Fulton on Independence Day.
City council members have promised to investigate potential solutions.
"Mr. (Charles) Williams is at least the second person to ring up a fireworks problem," said Ward 1 council member Ballard Simmons at the July 28 city council meeting. "We can't have this go on next year. We need to think about this over the next six to nine months."
Fulton resident Richard Skelton was the first to raise the issue, during the July 14 meeting. Skelton lives near Carver Park, and said that when he got home following Fourth of July festivities, it was "ablaze with fireworks."
"Kids were driving around the neighborhood shooting Roman candles at houses and people and friends," he said. "That went on through the week (before the 4th). Friday and Saturday (the 4th), it got worse."
Skelton said his grandson warned him there would be a "fireworks war" on the 4th, which drew participants from Columbia, Mexico and Jefferson City.
Columbia has a longstanding tradition of firework wars, in which participants attempt to hit each other with fireworks, as reported by the Columbia Tribune (bit.ly/2BSXDfl) and other area news sources. According to Maj. Roger Rice at the Fulton Police Department, Fulton's war has been an annual tradition for at least eight years.
"A lot of kids were burnt," Skelton said. "They were hitting our house with the Roman candles."
Area property didn't escape unscathed. A house at 326 W. Ninth St., a block away from Carver Park, caught fire July 5; Fulton Fire Chief Kevin Coffelt said the accidental fire was most likely related to fireworks. The house was empty at the time of the fire.
"People need to have fun with fireworks, but this is dangerous and deadly," Skelton said, adding, "There needs to be something done."
Williams brought up the fireworks war at the July 28 meeting. He also lives near Carver Park, in the Fourth Ward. Last year, he had to spend $500 to replaced fireworks-damaged siding on his home.
"This year we sustained damage, again, in the same place of our dwelling," he said. "I come before the council in great duress and seek a ban on fireworks purchase and use in the City of Fulton."
Williams pointed out that fireworks are being used in the fireworks wars is already outlawed in Fulton's city code. In Fulton, fireworks may only be discharged from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. on July 3-5 (and during designated times on New Year's Eve). It's also unlawful to shoot or throw fireworks out of vehicles, under vehicles, at vehicles, at buildings, at people, or in the vicinity of a church service (500 feet), on any public street or other public place within the city.
Williams said the "war" spilled over into his yard and a firework exploded under his window. When he tried to redirect participants back into the park, he became a target. His wife ended up trapped in her car due to the number of rockets whizzing around.
"Being medicated for PTSD and depression as a retired veteran, that bomb placed me back on the battlefield," he said. "It looked like a war zone, and this is not hyperbole."
He also suggested that many participants might be from out of town. Williams proposed that, at the very least, vendors be banned from selling commercial-grade fireworks within city limits, and banning the use of fireworks within the city.
A video shared on YouTube by user "Citizens for Justice" purportedly depicts this year's "war." Recognizable area landmarks, including the Carver Park sign, are visible in some shots. People depicted in the video show off their war wounds: burns and scorch marks marring their skin (youtu.be/1m54E36fffU). The footage shows participants firing out of cars and toward each other. Another segment shows a broken rear windshield on a vehicle.
The Fulton Sun reached out to a fireworks war participant for comment but had not received a response as of deadline Monday.
"Yes, it's illegal, but what are you going to do with it?" said Rice during a phone interview Monday. "That's a lot of fireworks to be compensated, a lot of people arrested."
Rice said the "wars" commonly draw 50-75 participants far too many for the three or so FPD officers on duty most nights to round up.
Noise complaints and complaints from those unwittingly caught in the crossfire were abundant, though no more numerous than in previous years. Rice observed at least "a truckload" worth of firework detritus on the ground the next day. He added that, to his knowledge, the FPD didn't receive any complaints of injuries or property damage related to this year's firework battle. That doesn't make the wars safe, though.
"Over the last three to four years fireworks have changed, the fireworks they're using today are closer to commercial fireworks, they're a lot more powerful and a lot more dangerous," he said. "It could be deadly. If it went off in the right area it could kill."
During the "council concerns" portion of the July 28 meeting, council members agreed it's an issue worth addressing.
"We don't want to be known as 'that community,'" Mayor Lowe Cannell said.
Bob Washington, of Ward 4, noted that in his youth, certain fireworks - including M-80s - were banned from sale within city limits.
City administrators agreed to discuss the issue with Coffelt and Police Chief Steve Myers. Director of Administration. Bill Johnson said it'll be back on the city's agenda within the next few months.
However, according to Rice, simply banning fireworks might not do the trick - not so many years ago, the discharge of fireworks was banned in city limits, and the fireworks wars continued anyway.
"It wasn't working well," he said. "You can make all the laws you want to, but making laws and enforcing them are two totally separate things."