Sacramento suburb considers fines for residents who host illegal firework parties

Faced with a growing number of incidents, Folsom is considering a new ordinance that would allow fines to be issued to property owners and party hosts where illegal fireworks are set off.

In recent years, illegal fireworks have posed a growing problem around July 4 holiday in Folsom, city staff said in a report, resulting in injuries and fires. The proposed ordinance would hold hosts liable for the use of illegal fireworks, not just the person lighting the displays.

“Really all it is, is more of a deterrence of people using illegal fireworks in our city,” said Folsom Fire Chief Ken Cusano. “It seems to be growing every year.”

Cusano said that the city code makes it difficult for officers and code enforcement to hold people accountable for having and lighting illegal fireworks.

“That’s the difficulty is that you can get there, you can turn the corner, you can see one that’s lit and going off in the air and exploding but there’s a group of 50 people standing there, you don’t know who lit that firework,” he said. “And that’s where we’re trying to go with this social host liability.”

Under the new ordinance, the host of the party or the property owner would be held responsible for the illegal fireworks, and officers would no longer have to hunt through crowds for the individual who lit it. Officers would only require a preponderance of evidence, meaning it would have to appear more likely than not that the host was responsible for the event. The host would then be issued a fine.

Violators could face fines of up to $1,000.

“Ultimately all that we’re doing is encouraging people to be careful when they’re hosting a party,” Mayor Mike Kozlowski said at last week’s City Council meeting.

The City Council voted unanimously last week to accept the first reading of the ordinance, with the intent of hearing it again and potentially adopting it later this month. It would then go into effect June 24.

This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Sacramento suburb considers fines for residents who host illegal firework parties."