Photo by Sally Y. Hart

One of the last things former Governor Terry Branstad signed before becoming ambassador to China was sign into law Senate File 489 legalizing the sale and use of fireworks in Iowa.

Washington’s City Council is now examining it’s own fireworks code and deciding how best to amend it. Washington Fire Marshal Bruce McAvoy spoke on the topic at a special session of the city council. He said there are regulations regarding how many pounds of fireworks a seller can have on site, as well as on the location, for example they can be sold at a gas station as long as it’s at least 25-feet away from gas pumps.

The state regulations state, “A person shall not use or explode consumer fireworks on days other than June 1-July 8, and December 10-January 3.” Also they can only be used between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m., with the exception of July 4th and New Year’s Eve holidays. There’s also a permit structure for licenses to sell consumer fireworks.

The council directed staff to draft the ordinance, which will then be reviewed and have three public readings.