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Permit sales down Sales of firecracker permits were down yesterday from last year, but one fireworks retailer says it has not hurt the bottom line.
but officials expect
last-minute rush
A retailer says the permit law
has not hurt fireworks salesBy Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.com"The majority (of sales) are the novelties and fountains, so our sales are actually doing really good," said Lynda of Fireworks Depot at McCully Shopping Center. "I would say they're probably up from last year."
The New Year's Eve tradition of warding off evil spirits by popping strings of red firecrackers has been dampened by a state law requiring a $25 permit to buy 5,000 firecrackers, said Lynda, who did not want to give her last name.
"By the time they get done buying the $25 permit, they can barely afford to buy the firecrackers, so they feel cheated," she said. "They're being cheated out of their culture as well as their fun."
Permits are required only for firecrackers. Under the law, which went into effect last year, there is no limit to how many permits a person can buy.
Fireworks can legally be sold until 9 p.m. Monday.
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Permit sales are down at three of the four counties contacted yesterday, but with permits on sale until Monday, some fire officials say it is too early to say what the end result will be.
"There's always a rush, so we don't know what the numbers are going to look like," said Capt. Kenison Tejada, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.
Last year, Honolulu County sold 3,000 permits in four days leading up to New Year's Eve, Tejada said.
As of yesterday, there were 2,318 permits sold on Oahu, compared with 4,307 at the same time last year. On Kauai, 200 permits were sold, down from a total of 600 last year. And on Maui, sales were down to about 100 from about 500 last year.
Hawaii County officials could not be reached for comment.
No matter the number of permit sales, Honolulu and Maui fire departments plan to beef up staff on New Year's Eve to deal with an anticipated increase in fireworks-related calls.
Capt. Neal Bal of the Maui Fire Prevention Bureau said the permit system has resulted in "a considerable cutback in (firecracker) usage."
Nonetheless, as far as fires go, "We almost expect them to be on the increase," he said.
On Kauai, fire inspector Russell Yee said permit sales were down by one-third, but he expected last-minute sales to boost numbers to at least match last year.
"We're picking up," he said. "We've got three more hours today, and we've already had 15 (sales) in the past hour."
Yee said those on Kauai may continue to pick up permits at fire stations over the weekend, but they will not be processed until Monday.
"We're normally a quiet county," Yee said. "We usually don't experience a rash of brush fires and house fires. We have pretty responsible people. It's just the sheer numbers of those using the fireworks are less than Oahu."
Tejada said that when the permit law went into effect last year, Honolulu firefighters responded to 85 fireworks incidents, down from 105 the year before.
As for this year, he said: "We're expecting it to be a little quieter for the legal fireworks. We really don't know what to expect when it comes to illegal fireworks."
Where to go to purchase fireworks permits
>> Fireworks permits cost $25 and allow the holder to buy 5,000 firecrackers. There is no limit on how many permits each person can buy. >> You must be 18 years or older with a picture ID to buy a permit.>> On Oahu, permits are issued at satellite city halls during normal hours.
>> On the Big Island, permits are sold at the Central Fire Station in Hilo and at the Kona Service Center.
>> On Kauai, permit applications are available at all fire stations. They are processed at Fire Department headquarters and paid for at the Finance Department. Both offices are at the Moikeha Building at 4444 Rice St.
>> On Maui, permits are available at the Wailuku, Kahului, Kihei and Lahaina fire stations. They can also be picked up at the Parks & Recreation office in Wailuku and at its satellite offices in Kihei, Hana, Makawao and Lahaina.
>> Firecrackers may be exploded legally from 9 p.m. New Year's Eve until 1 a.m. New Year's Day.