More than 20 Nobleboro residents were on hand at a meeting, June 20, designed to help the Nobleboro Board of Selectmen determine whether the town should create an ordinance to control or limit the use of consumer fireworks.
Board chairman Dick Spear told the gathering that the meeting was an opportunity for the board to hear from them about their concerns on the matter. He said a second meeting would be held in September, with an eye toward crafting an ordinance, if one seems appropriate, for presentation to voters at the March town meeting.
“We’d like to see what happens this summer,” Spear said. He said Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett has not received any complaints, to-date, and that the board also wanted to wait to see if the state refines the law that took effect Jan. 1.
Major Ken Mason of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said, June 26, fireworks complaints fall under the category of noise disturbances, but that he did not believe the office had received any.
Sergeant Kenneth Grimes of the State Fire Marshal’s Office said, June 25, there have been regular complaints about the noise and usage of fireworks.
“Local police departments have been inundated with reports of noise and gunshot calls that turned out to be fireworks,” Grimes said. He said there have also been numerous complaints that domestic animals have been frightened by the noise. He said local police are responsible for handling most such complaints
“As long as the are purchased legally and used on their own property or with the property owner’s permission, there’s really not much that can be done,” Grimes said.
Opinions were sharply split between those who said they considered a local ordinance a prudent protection against liability and safety hazards, and those who rejected the need for more laws governing what they viewed as a personal freedom that the state has already created adequate regulations.
Marty Welt said he has not complained to authorities, but has been hearing fireworks three or four nights of each week since early May, when docks went in on Damariscotta Lake near his West Neck Road home. He said the sounds can be heard during the daytime and sometimes continue past 10 p.m.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that, at this point, it’s just going to get worse,” he said. “I’d like to see Nobleboro ban fireworks completely for private use.” Welt said the town should require permits for any organization that wanted to include fireworks as part of an event.
“Take a hard line,” Welt said. “Otherwise we’re going to be listening to them all summer long.”
Cod Cove Inn owner Duane Lowe said his work required him to be awake at 4 a.m.
“I’m not here to vacation all summer,” he said. “I live here and I have to work.” He said property values would suffer if indiscriminate use of fireworks is permitted. “When it wakes you up and scares your animals, it’s not somebody’s right.”
“It’s an unfortunate situation we’re all put on here,” Eben Wilson said. He said renters who are only in town for a short time might not be aware of any ordinance that might be created. He said the smartest thing would be to put in an ordinance prohibiting fireworks use on days when there is a heightened risk for fire.
“It’s similar to hunting season,” Wilson said. “It’s just the way it is. If we have problems with them, take it up with the state.” He later said that insurance companies would sort out any liability issues related to landlords and renters.
“We’ve lived on Damariscotta Lake for 20 years,” Shoshana Zuboff said. She said a lightning strike started a fire, almost three years ago, that destroyed her family’s home in a matter of a few hours. “It took 85 very dedicated men and women to save the other homes around our house,” she said, adding the fire happened on a rainy day.
“Our house burned down and nothing was left,” she said. “We stayed in Nobleboro because our kids were born here and because we want to be able to sleep with the windows open and hear the loons.”
Zuboff said she thought Gov. Paul LePage had a philosophy that called for allowing towns to make decisions, rather than having rules handed down from the state.
“The state is inviting towns to shape our own destiny,” she said.
Welt said the board should draft a model ordinance for citizens to discuss at the next public meeting, in September. He said that would provide a base for a committee to work on, using the input that comes from responses at that meeting.
Spear said the board would decide the next steps in the fall, after they saw what the issues might really be.
“We really don’t want to create something if it’s not going to be needed,” Spear said.
State law legalizes the sale and use of consumer fireworks and differentiates them from those used in professional displays. Items such as missile-style rockets, aerial spinners and bottle rockets remain prohibited for consumer use.
The state law allows municipalities to create their own ordinances to prohibit or restrict the sale or use of consumer fireworks. According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, private individuals are permitted to use consumer fireworks between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.
On July 4 and Dec. 31, and the weekends immediately preceding and following those dates, those hours are extended until 12:30 a.m. the following morning. Grimes said the Fire Marshal’s Office interprets that to mean fireworks are allowed until 12:30 a.m. on the Sunday and Monday mornings of those weekends.
Fireworks may only be set off with permission of the property owner where they are being used and renters must have a landlord’s permission before using fireworks.
For more information about fireworks use in Maine, visit the website at maine.gov/dps/fmo.
The next meeting of the Nobleboro Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Tuesday July 3 at 4 p.m. at the Nobleboro Town Office.
