TUPELO • Fireworks can be a celebration for some could be hours of torture for others, according to a Tupelo resident who said she was fed up with illegal fireworks on holidays.
“They disturb my neighborhood,” she said. “I call every year, but the last New Year was particularly bad. It is a problem. They shot from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. I love fireworks, but there is a time and place for them. Two in the morning in a small neighborhood is not the time or place.”
Tupelo resident Jane Myers said fireworks within city limits had become unbearable over the last few years, to the point of reaching out to the city council for a solution. After the last New Year's Eve holiday, she decided to call council members and city officials, who asked her to speak directly to the council during a meeting Tuesday, April 21.
Myers said not only do fireworks terrify her small dog, but they also disturbed her late husband, who had dementia. Even after her husband's death, she fears the holidays for her neighbor, who has PTSD that is triggered by the explosives.
Her solution, Myers said, was to increase awareness that lighting fireworks were illegal within city limits through social and traditional media outlets.
“I think it would be easier on them if we could get the information out there. I don’t think a lot of people know it is illegal,” she said. “It is just a nuisance. They are fun, but go downtown or Ballard park, and get your fireworks there where it is legal.”
The city currently employs the 2018 international fire code, which prohibits the possession, manufacture, storage, sale, handling and use of fireworks within city limits with some exceptions, including fireworks displays.
Myers said she didn’t expect any changes by the The Fourth of July in three months.
“I will be surprised if anything changes, but nothing will change if someone doesn’t complain,” she said. “I know people say, ‘suck it up and enjoy it. It is only two times a year,’ but try telling that to my neighbor with severe PTSD or my friend whose child has autism.
Meanwhile, Police Chief John Quaka, who was appointed to the position in December but was not sworn in until Jan. 3, said he understood fireworks were a nuisance but his department would need to focus on other crimes during the holidays.
“I was not chief on December 31 when fireworks were being fired, but I can note we had limited officers that night because of COVID,” he said. “My priorities are going to drunk drivers and firearms in city limits during the Fourth. (Fireworks) cannot be a priority based upon my resources.”
Most of the reports of illegal fireworks within city limits, Quaka said, were tied to juveniles. He said it was important for parents to keep an eye on their children during the holidays.
“When we respond to fireworks, it is usually juveniles, and they will run. It is very hard to catch them in the act,” he said. “Parents need to be more involved with their children and be respectful of their neighbors.”
