BATON ROUGE, La.- As another fireworks sales season begins, the State Fire Marshal’s Office wants to
encourage all Louisiana residents to not only be safe when using fireworks, but knowledgeable when
buying them.
More than 500 retail fireworks permits have been issued for the 2019 Fourth of July season, as it is state
law for wholesale and retail fireworks business operators to be appropriately licensed by the the Office, in the
parishes and municipalities where they are legally allowed. The sales season extends through July 4th.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office encourages, first and foremost, that families to choose to enjoy public fireworks displays over creating their own. However, if purchasing fireworks is your preference, they advise families to be mindful of whether the stand they are purchasing from has been permitted by this office. You can request to see
permitting information from any retail fireworks business you patron. The Office encourages reporting any
suspicious or illegal sales of fireworks to 1-800-256-5452 or by visiting our website, lasfm.org.
In addition, they want everyone to enjoy fireworks in the safest way possible. A study by the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission shows that more than 200 people on average go the emergency room every
day with fireworks-related injuries in the month around the July 4th holiday.
To avoid becoming part of this statistic, the State Fire Marshal advises:
• Detonating devices at least 200 feet away from structures, vehicles and rubbish
• Never allowing children to light fireworks
• Never operating fireworks while impaired
• Lighting devices one at a time and monitoring embers released with a bucket of water or hose
nearby
• Discarding detonated items by wetting them down to prevent reignition and not disposing of them
in a trash container immediately
