FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Residents who want to use fireworks will now have to follow a new town ordinance restricting when the pyrotechnic devices can be set off.
The Fort Fairfield Town Council unanimously approved the new fireworks ordinance at the council’s April 18 meeting.
Under the ordinance, anyone who wants to use fireworks will have to get a permit from the Public Safety Department. Permit holders can then use fireworks four days of the year: July 3 and 4, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Fireworks can be used between noon and 10 p.m. on those dates, with the exception of the New Year’s holiday, when they can be used until 12:30 a.m. on the night of Dec. 31.
Fort Fairfield residents also can request to use fireworks for “special occasions,” such as weddings or graduations, although the use of those fireworks will be restricted to Fridays and Saturdays between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
“I think it’s a little over-the-top restrictive, but I think it’s something I can support,” said council chairman Jason Barnes ahead of the vote.
Town councillor Scott Smith said that only one person attended the public hearing on the ordinance and supported the measure, while no residents registered opposition.
Under the ordinance, there will be no fee charged for the permit, although the council could set one in the future, said town manager Jim Risner.
At a previous council meeting, Risner said the town has received numerous complaints about fireworks since consumer fireworks were legalized in the state in 2012.
More than 60 municipalities have fireworks ordinances restricting their use. In 2017, Presque Isle adopted a fireworks ordinance that requires anyone using fireworks in the urban compact zone to obtain a permit from the fire department.
In other Fort Fairfield news, the town is expecting to have a land use complaint resolved by this summer, said code enforcement officer Tony Levesque.
The town was in court in March regarding a land use complaint with the owners of a Riverside Avenue property, where other neighbors had complained of noise, junk piles and other issues.
The owners of the property, who lived out of state, sold it to the tenants, who vowed in court to clean up the property by June 1, said Levesque.
“They must clean it up by June 1 and the fines are several thousand dollars if they don’t,” he said.
