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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
HFD to rethink late
evening fireworks showQuestion: I was scared out of my mind recently, not once but twice, thinking there had been a terrible accident or a bomb. The first time was after midnight Friday, June 7 -- around 12:30 a.m. -- and again closer to midnight on Saturday, June 8. The loud, booming sounds were from a fireworks display on a cruise ship in Honolulu Harbor! Who do I address my concerns and complaints to? Downtown Honolulu is home to many people. Midnight fireworks shows on nights that are neither the Fourth of July nor New Year's seem quite outrageous.
Answer: You can voice your concerns to the Honolulu Fire Department, which issued the permit allowing the aerial fireworks, or to your elected representatives.
It turns out many residents have already contacted state and city officials, and HFD is planning stricter guidelines for future displays.
The fireworks did not come from a cruise ship, but from a barge off the Aloha Tower Marketplace as part of Cecilio & Kapono's 30th-anniversary concerts the weekend of June 7.
"It was bad. It was absolutely terrible. People were jolted out of deep sleep. A lot of people felt they were under attack," said Lynne Matusow, chairwoman of the Downtown Neighborhood Board. "People are just fuming."
She said residents from at least six neighborhood board areas -- Kalihi, Downtown, Nuuanu, Ala Moana, Makiki and Waikiki -- complained, indicating the scope of the disturbance.
Because of the complaints, HFD is planning to impose noise and time restrictions on permits for such displays, Battalion Chief Lloyd Rogers told "Kokua Line" on Friday. The restrictions can be imposed administratively, he said.
He noted similar complaints a few months ago about fireworks at a private party at the Ko Olina Resort. There is no law restricting public aerial fireworks to certain times or dates, as there is for regular firecrackers.
For situations like the C&K celebration, Rogers said HFD will ask that less noisy devices be used and that the actual displays be fired no later than 9 to 10 p.m.
John Bilgrave, of Kapono's, the establishment that sponsored the celebration, apologized for the fireworks' startling people. "That was never our intent," he said.
"We did everything we were supposed to do" to put on the fireworks, he said, including getting approval from the Coast Guard, harbor master and Fire Department.
"The combination of the heightened terroristic fear that's going through the country now ... to the lack of tradewinds ... and the 12:30 (a.m. time)" did make the situation bad for some residents , he acknowledged.
In line with what Rogers said, Bilgrave said that in retrospect, he wouldn't get the "big boom" fireworks, which are especially loud, again and would consider scheduling them earlier in the evening. He said he would also try to better inform nearby residents.
Although some complainants have alleged the Friday fireworks went off after the cutoff time of 12:30 a.m., Rogers said no action is being pursued. Instead, "We're looking at trying to resolve (problems) for future events."
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