Breaking the law?

While fireworks may be immensely popular and easy to obtain, using them during Fourth of July celebrations is not legal in Florida.

State statutes limit the use of fireworks and explosives to agricultural purposes, but enforcement of laws, and their wide availability, does little to stop people from buying them.

According to state statutes, anything that shoots into the air or explodes is illegal to use unless it's being used in "frightening birds from agricultural works and fish hatcheries." Florida is one of 25 states that allow residents to only use lower-grade fireworks. Six Northeast states do not allow the use of fireworks at all.

The laws restricting their use are doing little to stop people from buying fireworks, said Mel Crawford, director of imports and distribution for Sky King Fireworks in south Fort Myers.

Crawford said the store gets customers throughout the year, and things only get busier in the weeks leading up to Independence Day. For the most part, the customers are aware that they cannot use fireworks recreationally, and they sign a waiver agreeing not to do so.

Waivers are standard forms at all fireworks stores and stands. They are normally simple, one-page agreements that customers must sign saying they've read the state statutes concerning fireworks, and they assume full responsibility for their actions. They must also prove that they're at least 18 years old.

Photo by Jeremy Lyverse, Daily News

Bob Bogacz, left, shops for the biggest and loudest fireworks offered by Liberty Sparklers in Bonita Springs on Sunday. Manager Joe Stodgel, back right, wipes the sweat from his head after digging out the "Phantomizer Collection" and the "Thermobaric Warheads." Bogacz ended up purchasing both, but he doesn't have to worry about too many complaints from neighbors. "We don't have many now, they're all gone," he said.

"People just sign it without a problem," said Joe Stodgel, manager of the Liberty Sparklers fireworks stand on Bonita Beach Road. "It washes our hands of any (responsibility)."

The responsibility could come in the form of law enforcement action or possibly injury. Both Lee and Collier counties follow state statues concerning fireworks use. Collier goes further in regulating sales: It is illegal to buy aerial fireworks in Collier County.

Fireworks enforcement during the Fourth of July, New Year's and other times when fireworks are used is somewhat relaxed, said Lee County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ileana Foell.

While the department knows fireworks are illegal to use, they do not actively patrol, Foell said. If they get noise complaints or reports of reckless use, they will investigate, she added.

Things work similarly with the Collier County Sheriff's Office, said public information officer Kristin Adams. Stopping everyone with fireworks would be impossible, Adams said.

Nina Banister, spokeswoman for the Florida State Fire Marshal's Office, said it is well known that people use them recreationally rather than for agricultural or industrial purposes.

"We're pretty sure people aren't out there building railroads in their backyards," Banister said.

Still, the state allows the sale, because of that possibility. The use restrictions are in place more often for safety reasons, Banister said. The state tries to reduce injuries, particularly those to children.

The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that 9,300 Americans are injured by fireworks each year. About 40 percent of those injuries occur to children younger than 14.

According to the National Council on Firework Safety's Web site, fireworks are the seventh leading cause of fire-related injuries in the U.S., behind ovens, fireplaces, space heaters, gasoline, barbecue grills and cigarettes.

On a recent fireworks-buying trip to Stodgel's tent, Naples resident Todd Grup said he knew that there were limitations of fireworks use but he's never gotten any heat from police for using them.

Grup, 39, said he and his neighbors set off fireworks every year, but they are responsible about it and left alone for the most part.

In his years selling fireworks, Stodgel said he does not know of too many people who have been fined by police, or have had their fireworks confiscated, because of the sheer amount of people using them.