By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Daiei worker Davin Gutierres stacks boxes of
fireworks on store shelves.

Buyers streaming in
for fireworks

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii retailers expect the sale of fireworks to pick up over the Fourth of July weekend as people prepare to legally set off the pyrotechnics Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the Honolulu Fire Department and the American Lung Association urges everyone to be cautious this holiday weekend.

Stores such as Wal-Mart and Kmart reported steady sales of fireworks yesterday, although not near the buying frenzy such as that found three days before New Year's Eve.

Greg Hosmann, a manager at Kmart in Honolulu, said sales are going fairly well. The store brought in about half the amount of fireworks it would for New Year's Eve, and Hosmann expects it should be able to sell them all by 9 p.m. Sunday, when the legal sale of fireworks ends.

Lynn Tabuyo, a support manager for Wal-Mart in Kunia, said this is the first year the store is selling fireworks for Independence Day. Sales have been brisk, she said.

Grocery stores like Foodland are hoping for big fireworks sales this weekend. Sheryl Toda, Foodland community relations manager, said its stores began selling fireworks yesterday and she expects sales to dramatically increase after tomorrow, which is payday for many people.

The public can legally set off fireworks from 9 p.m. Sunday to 1 a.m. Monday.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo recommends people watch the fireworks displays being held over the weekend rather than setting off fireworks.

Those displays are at various times on the weekend. See pages D-1 and D-6 of today's paper for times and places.

For those who take matters into their own hands, the fire department offers these safety tips:

Read and follow all warning labels and instructions on the handling and use of fireworks.

Ensure other people are out of range before lighting fireworks. Light fireworks on a smooth, flat surface away from the house, dry leaves or flammable material.

Have a garden hose or bucket of water ready in case of fire.

Children should only use fireworks under the direct supervision of an adult.

Soo said the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 8,500 people in 1998 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireworks. Of those injuries, 55 percent were burns, and most of the burns involved the hands, eyes and head.

Nearly 40 percent of the victims were under age 15.

Meanwhile, the American Lung Association advises everyone, especially those who suffer from chronic lung diseases, to take precautions to deal with fireworks smoke.