Captain Craig Cozadd of the Monmouth Fire Department warns of the legality and safety issues of fireworks as the holiday weekend draws closer:
“They are still illegal; it’s a $2,500 fine and year in prison. Even if you purchase them out of state, once you’re in Illinois with them, they are illegal. The biggest concern for us is the medical and safety of it—hands getting blown off, things like that. The other problem we have, too, is when you fire a projectile in the air, it’s going to land somewhere. It can land on roofs or in gutters, and if the gutters have leaves in them, they can start a fire. And then from a standpoint of taking care of your neighbors, a lot of people have pets. People are terribly upset because their dogs are upset from the sounds of the fireworks.”
