KNOXVILLE, TN (story courtesy of WVLT) – Fourth of July is almost here!
Families gather for good food, celebrate freedom and of course, there’s fireworks!
Americans used more than 295 million pounds of consumer fireworks last year, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association.
More than 27 million pounds of display fireworks were also used.
Before you grab those sparklers and firecrackers, you need to know where fireworks are illegal in East Tennessee.
Just across the Knox county line in Loudon county, they are legal.
Michala Beal with TNT fireworks has been selling them for three years.
She said she’s already getting a flow of customers, making 60 sells on Saturday.
“And we’re expecting close to 100 to 200 on July 3rd and July 4th,” Beal said.
Beal is urging people to be careful with fireworks.
She suggested something more tame and quiet for beginners, it’s called a fountain.
“Just because they don’t go up in the air, but they still have that beautiful effect so you just set it on the ground,” Beal said. “We have punt sticks which are lighting sticks to help you light it at a safer distance and they go about 4ft to 6ft depending on which one you get.”
There are some places in East Tennessee where fireworks are illegal, like Knox county and Knoxville.
“In the city of Knoxville it is a misdemeanor with a fine up to 6 months in jail or $1000 fine,” Knoxville Assistance Fire Chief Mark Wilbanks said.
He said there’s about 250 to 300 ER visits each year across the country on Fourth of July alone.
“There’s a lot of hand injuries, a lot face injuries, you can have eye injuries,” he said. “Believe or not even those sparklers if you’re not careful enough can cause injuries.”
There are some things to be mindful before you set anything off.
“You want to make there’s a flat surface for you to put these on you don’t want any big trees around,” Beal said. “And you definitely want to make sure everyone is at a safe distance so definitely not in a safe area.”
Wilbanks said the hot and dry temperatures for the holiday weekend will make fireworks more dangerous. Increasing the risk of sparking fires — even by accident.
“Especially if you think about housing that may have leaves and things like that on the roof where the gutters haven’t been cleaned out in a while,” He said. “Those types of things can cause fires very quickly.”
It’s also important to keep a close watch on children.
“I know kids, I have a 5 year old,” Beal said. “They like to run off and they get excited or they might get scared and try to hide, it’s best to, especially for young children to make sure you are holding them especially during loud fireworks and make sure you have an eye on them.”
WVLT News has compiled a list of counties and cities in East Tennessee where fireworks are and are not allowed to be sold and used:
- Anderson County-Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- Blount County- Legal to set off fireworks in the county in any location excluding Alcoa and Townsend. Fireworks are banned from being set off between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
- City of Oak Ridge- Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- City of Alcoa – Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- City of Townsend – Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- Knox County- Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- Knoxville- Illegal to sell and set off fireworks without a permit from the city
- Gatlinburg- Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- Pigeon Forge- Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- Sevierville – Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- LaFollette – Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- Athens- Illegal to sell and set off fireworks
- Maryville – Legal to set off fireworks on private property from July 3 and 4 and Dec. 31 through Jan. 31 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Use of fireworks is prohibited at any public area, including, streets, roadways and parking lots.
- Campbell County – Legal to sell and set off fireworks in county
- Cumberland County – Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Crossville- Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Fentress County- Legal to sell and set off in county, banned within city limits
- Grainger County- Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Greene County- Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Loudon County- Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- McMinn County – Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Monroe County- Legal to sell fireworks and set off on July 3rd and 4th
- Morgan County- Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Scott County- Legal to sell and shoot fireworks before 11:00 p.m.
- Sevier County- Legal to sell and set off fireworks in the county but not in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge or Sevierville city limits
- Roane County- Legal to sell fireworks, city leaders to determine areas where they may be set off
- Kingston- Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Union County– Legal to sell and set off fireworks
- Hawkins County- Legal to sell and shoot fireworks outside city limits between July 2 and July 6
- Jefferson County- Legal to sell and shoot fireworks outside city limits
