12 summonsed to court for illegally possessing fireworks
Jun. 29—SALISBURY — Twelve people were summonsed to Newburyport District Court on Sunday to answer to illegal fireworks possession charges after they were caught in a joint operation conducted by state police and the state Fire Marshal's Office.
The suspects were stopped on Interstate 95 in Salisbury throughout the day by troopers assigned to the Fire Marshal's Office after purchasing fireworks in New Hampshire where they are legal, according to state police. Fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts.
On June 20, eight people were summonsed to court for the same offense after a similar operation on the same highway.
The fireworks enforcement operations began about May 20, according to Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey and Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason.
The State Police Bomb Squad saw a 63% increase in fireworks calls in 2020 over 2019. During a similar operation in 2020, there were 47 criminal summonses issued over a four-day period. This year's enforcement operation has already started and will last longer.
Fireworks complaints to the Lawrence Police Department increased 409% in 2020, when there were 810, versus 159 complaints in 2019. From May 1 through Aug. 31, fireworks complaints increased by 420% from 148 in 2019 to 769 in 2020.
In the past decade, there have been 941 major fires and explosions involving illegal fireworks reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System. The incidents caused 12 civilian injuries, 42 fire service injuries, and an estimated loss of $2.1 million.
Additionally, 32 people were treated at Massachusetts emergency rooms for severe burn injuries from fireworks, according to the report. That does not include visits to hospital emergency rooms for eye injuries, amputations, puncture wounds or smaller burns.
Forty-one percent of fireworks-related burn injuries reported by hospitals in the last 10 years were to children under age 18. Twenty-six percent were children under age 10, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Staff writer Dave Rogers can be reached at drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter@drogers41008.
