Central Maine residents, vacationers urged to follow rules, take precautions with pets

The upcoming Fourth of July weekend means a lot of noise as Mainers and vacationers gear up to light up the holiday with fireworks for the fourth time since they became legal in the state.

Town and state officials and others are advising people using fireworks to take safety and awareness of others into consideration.

Local animal shelters also are reminding people that the noise from firecrackers and fireworks shows can bother or even be harmful to their pets. One former Benton town official said he hopes that people are also aware that the noise can affect veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Erin Miner, of the Franklin County Animal Shelter, advises pet owners to make sure their furry family members are secure in the house before any scheduled fireworks.

Miner said, “If you have an indoor and outdoor cat, try to make sure they are inside before as well.

“Dogs don’t like fireworks,” Miner said, and even though some dog owners think their dogs don’t mind them, they’re wrong.

Miner said dog owners intent on taking their dogs to fireworks displays should make sure they have a sturdy leash and collar, as more dogs are lost on Independence Day than at any other time of the year.

Former Benton Town Clerk Patrick Turlo said that after the town held a special town meeting last year to consider fireworks restrictions, he was approached by a resident who told him about a veteran who has a bad reaction to fireworks because of PTSD.

Turlo said he contacted veterans’ organizations to see if there was any interest in setting up alternative events for veterans to get them away from municipal fireworks displays, such as a movie night at a local theater. He said he got little response to the suggestions.

He still believes it’s an issue, however, and he cited a Web post by Ecomerge urging people to take veterans into consideration.

Among suggestions in the post are attending fireworks displays rather than setting them off in a residential neighborhood, avoiding setting them off at “unexpected times” during the day and choosing locations that would be least likely to disturb veterans when setting them off.

Several cities and towns enacted fireworks ordinances after the ban was lifted, and police departments in central Maine communities that restrict fireworks are reminding residents about the rules.

The Fairfield and Winslow police departments both have attached the town’s fireworks ordinance to their Facebook pages.

Communities in central Maine that restrict or ban fireworks include Anson, Augusta, Fairfield, Farmingdale, Gardiner, Hallowell, Monmouth, Oakland, Randolph, Unity, Waterville, Wayne, Wilton, Winslow and Winthrop.

Despite the fact that the sale and use of consumer fireworks are no longer banned, the state still has restrictions on when they can be used, where and who can use them.

In Franklin County, where no towns have restrictions on fireworks, complaints about them aren’t a big issue, said Lt. David Radcliffe, of the sheriff’s office.

He said fireworks complaints “have probably increased,” and “it seems like the number of complaints for ‘shots fired’ have increased” in the two years since the ban was lifted.

“We’ve seen more people thinking that there’s gunfire going on. They’re unable to distinguish between fireworks and a firearm.”

Radcliffe said the volume of complaints rises as the Independence Day weekend approaches, and even in rural areas where gunfire is not uncommon, folks hearing what they believe to be gunfire in the dead of the night means calls to law enforcement.

Farmington Police Chief Jack Peck said the town hasn’t gotten a big spike in fireworks complaints since the ban was lifted.

“We may receive an occasional complaint, but we have never had a real issue,” he said.

Peck said he doesn’t think fireworks use itself has increased since they were made legal, but now people are more open about using them.

Douglas McIntire — 861-9252

dmcintire@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @CD_McIntire