QUESTION: Isn't there anything that can be done regarding the significant increase in illegal fireworks being used this year, and the fact that they started well before Thanksgiving? They are being set off almost daily. Some appear to be bomblike devices. The explosions have such force that they set off car alarms in neighborhoods. It really is a serious health and safety issue.

ANSWER: Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha acknowledged the problem seems to be increasing and that “;many complaints involve the discharge of exceptionally loud explosives that can shake homes and scare and disturb neighbors and pets.”;

But he urged the public to help catch the perpetrators. Unless the police witness the infraction, they need witnesses willing to testify, he said.

The culprits are usually gone by the time officers arrive, and witnesses are often unwilling to testify against their neighbors.

The same standard applies to busting illegal sales operations, said Maj. Clayton Kau. In the past, undercover operations have resulted in arrests, he said.

TOM LIKOS, a licensed pyrotechnician for Fireworks by Grucci-Hawaii, says the booming explosions are what are known as titanium salutes — charges of titanium powder that are much in demand but illegal for those without a license.

“;It's a special mix that just makes the bang as opposed to the slow burst that spreads the color in the sky,”; the Makaha resident said. “;But when you want a bang, you have to have something that burns very fast, a chemical reaction that oxidizes quickly.”;

Likos, who on Wednesday was loading a barge full of fireworks for a New Year's show, pulled a titanium salute from a slim fiberglass mortar. He held the 3-inch shell in his palm.

“;It's a bang rather than a burst of color,”; he said. “;It's a small, intense, silver-white flash in the sky. They're very effective as parts of our show, but they're very dangerous for consumers.

“;We'll put 50 in the air at the same time, and that's the big bang at the end of the show.”;

Likos said he believes new display companies or their employees may be unscrupulously selling off fireworks that are for licensed display only.

For the show, the salutes are strung together in chains of 10. But Likos said it would be easy for a worker to cut off a couple of shells to make an easy buck. In China they sell for $5 per shell, he said, but are being sold for $100 a pop to willing Hawaii residents.

Unfortunately, accidents can happen when unlicensed residents use the relatively small shells in PVC or other pipes, he said.

If the shells get damp, the charge explodes inside the mortar, and there's danger of shrapnel.

Likos said his company uses fiberglass mortars that disintegrate if the charge goes off prematurely. Even so, he said, the pyrotechnicians are protected inside an aluminum wheelhouse with its windows covered in thick plywood.

So how are these display fireworks being brought in and getting into the hands of unlicensed users?

Likos believes shipments of display fireworks can be hidden in the middle of a container of consumer fireworks.

Police and federal agents, including the agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), made a big bust at Sand Island within the last month.

From a shipping container, they seized 589 cases of illegal fireworks, a total of 13,400 pounds, with an estimated street value of $150,000 to $200,000.

“;Our biggest push and biggest emphasis is with ICE to try and intercept the stuff before it comes in, at the ports,”; said Cheryl Bishop, an ATF spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, the Honolulu Fire Department, the Department of Emergency Medical Services and police continue to support a total fireworks ban.

State Rep. Mark Takai, who has supported such a ban since 1999, said this might be the year it becomes law.

“;I think this is the worst it's ever been,”; he said. “;I think (a ban) is gaining support. At the bare minimum, in this day and age, with wars going on and planes being threatened by terrorism, people are hypersensitive to loud noises. I don't think it's conducive to the Hawaii that we want to continue to live in.”;

———

”;Kokua Line”; columnist June Watanabe is on vacation. Write to “;Kokua Line”; at Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).