BRYAN, Texas — Despite a fireworks ban in both cities of Bryan and College Station, our local firework vendors are still seeing booming sales.
Ahead of the Fourth of July, the Bryan Fire Department is warning residents about fines and safety precautions that could come with not adhering to the rules that are in place.
“If you are caught discharging fireworks in the city, there could be fines anywhere from $200 to $2,000,” said Bryan Fire Department Public Information Officer, Chris Lamb.
However, local firework vendors are seeing more residents looking for their products.
“We had a few people come in on the 24th and the next day we had more people so everyday it's getting closer, we’re seeing more and more people coming in. We're really expecting this Friday, Saturday to start seeing a big influx of people coming in,” said Mr. W's Fireworks Operator, Natalie Potts.
Located just outside the city limits, Mr. W’s fireworks shop is looking to help residents celebrate the Fourth of July in big ways.
“We have a big selection of the big booms and we have seen some of them almost go off the self completely and our roman candles are a huge hit and of course the sparklers as well,” Potts said.
With fireworks being a long-standing holiday tradition, the Bryan Fire Department ultimately wants residents to be cautious and safe.
“There's about 19,000 fires in the U.S. a year that start because of fireworks, and more importantly there's over 9,000 injuries that the ER sees every year because of fireworks," explained Lamb. "You got to remember these are small explosive devices and they can cause bodily injury. Sparklers are a big one they burn around 2,000 degrees and that’s a quarter of the injuries they see is caused by sparklers."
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