Planning to Celebrate the 4th of July With Fireworks? Find out Which Will be Legal in Tempe

(Tempe, Ariz.) — Celebrating with sparklers in Tempe this July 4^th is allowed, but the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department and Tempe Police Department remind residents that many other types of fireworks are illegal to use within city limits.

A 2011 state law allows for the sale of consumer fireworks at retail and temporary locations, while still allowing Arizona cities and towns to ban their use. In 2010, the Tempe City Council joined several other communities across the state in banning the use of consumer fireworks to prevent injuries and fires.

Novelty fireworks are allowed to be used in Tempe; they include handheld sparklers, smoke devices, party poppers, snappers and snakes. Consumer fireworks are illegal to use within city limits; they include ground-based sparklers in cylindrical, square, cone or rocket shapes, as well as aerial fireworks like roman candles, firecrackers, sky rockets and bottle rockets.

Watch the Tempe 11 video about fireworks and visit www.tempe.gov/fire for more safety information.

The penalty for violating the city’s ordinance is a minimum fine of $1,000. The ordinance also allows Tempe to recoup expenses if emergency services are needed in conjunction with the use of consumer fireworks.