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162 complaints in three days

Fireworks barrage has FD council thinking about changes

Fort Dodge residents have recently been subjected to a nightly barrage of booms, bangs and sudden flashes of light generated by newly legal fireworks.

An accompanying steady stream of complaints about fireworks now has the City Council thinking about some new rules to control them.

“The amount of complaints has been ungodly,” Councilman Terry Moehnke said Monday evening.

Police Chief Kevin Doty told the City Council that between Friday and Monday morning city police officers responded to 162 fireworks complaints. Those fireworks complaints accounted for 22 percent of the total number of calls the police responded to in that time period, he said.

In all of 2016, he said, police responded to 156 fireworks complaints.

“This is really crazy,” Doty said.

He said between Friday and Monday morning, police officers issued just two citations for illegal use of fireworks. He said officers have to catch the person who actually lit the fireworks before a citation can be issued.

“Sometimes, that’s hard to do,” he said.

Moehnke said he believes the council needs to address the current fireworks rules.

“I really seriously doubt we’re going to be able to continue as it is now,” he said.

Moehnke said he wants to reconsider the period in which people are allowed to use fireworks, and Doty agreed with that idea.

“I think it would be in the best interest of everyone to shorten the time frame in which they can light them off,” Doty said.

Fireworks may be used from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. from June 1 through July 8. They can be used from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4 and on the Saturdays and Sundays before and after July 4.

Doty said he thinks many people using fireworks are simply ignoring the rules.

“If they’re unaware, they’re living under a rock,” he said. “I really think they just don’t care.”

Councilmembers briefly discussed the possibility of posting fireworks laws everywhere fireworks are sold, or requiring merchants to give a copy of the laws to anyone who buys them.

Councilman Neven Conrad said that since people are apparently flaunting the fireworks laws now, it may not do much good to enact new ones.

However, he encouraged residents to contact state lawmakers and ask them give city governments more control over fireworks.

Councilman Kim Alstott said he knows of communities in other states where fireworks have long been legal that don’t experience the kind of problems Fort Dodge now has. He said that because this is the first year most fireworks are legal in Iowa, people are going “nuts” with them.

The council made no decisions on fireworks Monday. Councilman Dave Flattery said he wants to have a workshop discussion on fireworks rules sometime after the Independence Day holiday to examine possible future changes.

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