No ban on Lafourche fireworks … yet

The Lafourche Parish Council voted in favor of not imposing a ban on Fourth of July fireworks Tuesday night after a 30-minute discussion on the subject that included opinions from eight parish lawmakers, the parish president and two stand owners.

District 6 Councilman Lindel Toups sponsored a motion that extended the status quo, no ban on fireworks, and included a forceless precautionary warning that said the Council could call an emergency meeting and bar the sale and use of the celebratory explosives if dry conditions do not improve.

The motion passed 5 to 3, with Councilmen Phillip Gouaux (Dist. 7), Jerry Jones (Dist. 1) and Matt Matherne (Dist. 5) against the action. Councilman Louis Richard was absent.

“If worse comes to worse, and it’s too dry, then I say you can get with the fire department and let them pop fireworks in a park or something,” Toups said.

One of the points made against outlawing fireworks was the unlikelihood of a firecracker causing a grass fire. Councilman Daniel Lorraine (Dist. 9) said Fire District 3 reported to him that fireworks have not caused a single fire in that area for at least five years.

“We still have two weeks to go before the Fourth of July and another council meeting,” Lorraine said. “I don’t think we should jump the gun. … Accidents will happen, no matter what. But you have to look at the whole picture. Let’s get a report and see how many houses [fireworks] burned down in Lafourche Parish.”

“I really think we’ve been getting a little rain every day,” Toups said. “I don’t think we ought to put a ban on it. … Go try to light a fire in your yard. You’re not going to start a fire.”

Matherne said he voted against the measure because he didn’t want to go against the fire chiefs, who advised the parish’s administration that a ban was in the parish’s best interest.

Gouaux said it’s better to err on the side of caution and would prefer an edict to come down from the state fire marshal, H. “Butch” Browning.

“I think life and property comes first,” Gouaux said. “If we were going to vote on this, I was going to make it contingent on the fire marshal’s ruling. Make him rule. I know it’s a tough call for the people who are out there having to buy the fireworks, but on the safety side of it, house, property and lives come first.”

Browning did to respond a voicemail left on his cell phone or a message left with his secretary last week.

Parish President Charlotte Randolph supported a ban on fireworks but had no say in the council’s decision. Randolph invoked a ban on June 6 and then revoked it on June 9 when she announced the prohibition had no legal merit.

“I put this on the agenda with the intent of asking for your discussion on this,” Randolph said. “A vote is only necessary if you so desire, but certainly it is something that has been discussed now for two weeks, and I wanted to get your input on this and where you think we should go with it.”

Edwin Pearson operates three firework stands in south Lafourche and has been a firework vendor since 1972. Pearson, a Lacombe transplant who lives in Carriere, Miss., urged the council to ban only the use of fireworks, if anything at all.

“If it’s dry and people know that there’s a good chance of starting a fire with fireworks, they don’t shoot them,” Pearson said. “We hurt. …The general public, they are able to think and make decisions also.”

With a statewide burn ban in effect, scenes like this one are uncertain. Lafourche Parish, the only Tri-parish that allows fireworks to be sold, is considering banning all sales. FILE PHOTO