Fireworks stores prepare for July 4

Explosions of color and sound light up the night sky every Fourth of July, but it’s a year round business endeavor for firework stores across town.

Mr. Fireworks, a family owned chain based out of Kokomo, Indiana, has a satellite location on 360 Sagamore Parkway West. The owner, Brian Hudson, has been running the family business since 1981.

Among the selection of fireworks at the store, the more expensive “cakes,” or shelled-firework boxes that only need to be lit once, rely heavily on their packaging to sell.

“North Central Industries, one of Indiana’s biggest firework distributors, has a graphic designer on their staff that only does firework packaging design,” said Tyler Hudson, Brian’s son.

The often exuberant and artistic packaging, that often has visuals unrelated to fireworks, are used to entice a customer and elicit a certain mood, or perception.

Consumer fireworks, are what anyone 18 or older can buy in a store in Indiana, or any other of the 31 U.S. states that sell them, are classified as having an explosion rating of no more than 1.4G, which means the limit of the powder and other chemicals used.

Commercial fireworks, which are the fireworks you see used in a professional show, are not available for purchase for the general public and can only be bought and sold by entities with licenses. These groups are often companies who put together large public shows.

“Some of the people I know who have done shows in Indianapolis and used commercial fireworks can only use them on the day they are bought,” said Hudson. “They’re very strict on this and that, so if it gets rained out they have to be put in storage back where they’re bought and then driven straight to the site the next day.”

In Indiana, beyond a normal 7% sales tax on all firework sales, a 5% “Public Safety Fee” is also added to every fireworks order.

The public safety fee goes towards the training of municipal departments and the Indiana Fire Marshal’s office, which is part of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Most consumer fireworks are made in mainland China, and essentially have an unlimited shelf life, but Hudson said over the years they have become stagnant in innovation.

“What’s happening is like in every country, all of the kids want to get into electronics, and they don’t want to do fireworks. And so, they’re losing a lot of their workforce over the years to do this,” Hudson said.

Nonetheless, people will still come back every year to buy different fireworks, candles, rockets, sparklers and other pyrotechnics.

Hudson recalls the best year of business in 2020 during the pandemic when “people had nothing else to do but light fireworks,” but recently the business has seen increased shipping costs as a result of Chinese tariffs that have driven up the importers shipping costs by almost 50%.

“We were totally skewed on the shipping cost. Everybody who distributes, they got whacked, and it sounds like they’re going to hit our industry again,” Hudson said.

Fireworks should only be handled by adults, and injuries are most common among young men and adolescent boys.

In 2019, Pew Research estimated that approximately 90,000 emergency room visits occurred during the days following the Fourth of July. Most of the injuries came from accidental negligence or underestimating the power of fireworks.

“Just pay attention, don’t turn your back, and be careful. You are also going to want to use a flat platform for any of the boxed fireworks, so they don’t tip over,” Tyler Hudson said. “At the end of the day they’re explosives and should be used with caution.”