SCR 71, as amended, Gaines. Fireworks Safety Month.
This measure would designate June 21, 2015, through July 21, 2015, as Fireworks Safety Month and would encourage the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and local fire protection agencies to educate members of the public about the risks of improperly using fireworks, including fireworks that have been approved as safe and sane.
Fiscal committee: yes.
P1 1WHEREAS, Many Californians and visitors to the state will be
2celebrating our nation’s independence on July 4th with fireworks;
3and
4WHEREAS, Fireworks were involved in an estimated 11,400
5injuries treated in hospital emergency departments throughout the
6United States during 2013, with roughly 65 percent of those injuries
7being treated during the period between June 21 and July 21,
8inclusive; and
9WHEREAS, Serious misuse of fireworks devices, as well as
10the use of illegal explosives,begin delete accountend deletebegin insert accountsend insert for a large
11proportion of these injuries; and
P2 1WHEREAS, Children younger than 15 years of age accounted
2for approximately 40 percent of the injuries, with roughly 2,300
3of those injuries being caused by sparklers, 300 by bottle rockets,
4and 500 by firecrackers; and
5WHEREAS, The parts of the body most often injured were
6hands, fingers, head, face, eyes, and legs, with burns representing
7the most common injury to all parts of the body, except that
8lacerations and foreign bodies occurred more frequently in the
9eyes; and
10WHEREAS, Bodily injury is not the only damage that can occur
11from improper use of fireworks and the Department ofbegin delete Forestry,end delete
12begin insert Forestryend insert and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has stated that improper
13use of fireworks during California’s severe drought has caused
14wildfires; and
15WHEREAS, CAL FIRE has already responded to 1,122 wildfires
16between January 2015 and May 2015, inclusive, that have burned
174,206 acres, nearly double the number of fires and acreage
18destroyed by this time in 2013, and therefore CAL FIRE is urging
19the public to enjoy only professional fireworks displays; and
20WHEREAS, Since it can take hundreds of thousands of gallons
21of water to control a large wildfire, avoiding home use of fireworks
22is important not only for safety and wildfire prevention, but also
23to save precious water resources during this critical period of
24drought; and
25WHEREAS, CAL FIRE has reminded those who choose to use
26fireworks to celebrate to make sure fireworks are allowed in the
27area of use and thatbegin delete theyend deletebegin insert usersend insert follow all safety precautions,
28because individuals not following these requirements can be held
29financially responsible for any fire caused by improper fireworks
30activities; now, therefore, be it
31Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
32thereof concurring, That the Legislaturebegin delete designate,end deletebegin insert designatesend insert June
3321, 2015, to July 21, 2015, inclusive, as Fireworks Safety Month;
34begin delete and,end deletebegin insert andend insert be it further
35Resolved, That the Legislature encourages the Department of
36Forestry and Fire Protection and local fire protection agencies to
37educate members of the public about the risks of improperly using
38fireworks, including fireworks that have been approved as safe
39and sane;begin delete and,end deletebegin insert andend insert be it further
P3 1Resolved, That the Legislature encourages these agencies to
2advise members of the public about the high fines for use or sale
3of illegal fireworks in addition to the risk of paying for wildfire
4damage caused by improper or illegal use of fireworks;begin delete and,end deletebegin insert andend insert
5 be it further
6Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
7this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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