Those NM fireworks could bring fines, jail

A New Mexico shop has been flooding the Tucson area with fliers promoting its overflowing stock of bottle rockets, Roman candles, M-80s and various other things that go boom in the air, just in time for the Fourth of July.

"The majority of our customers are from Tucson," said Shannon Graham, an assistant manager at the Phantom Fireworks Showroom in Road Forks, along Interstate 10 just five miles east of the Arizona-New Mexico state line.

Graham estimates as many as 95 percent of the people who filter through the warehouselike building, which has been in operation for six years, are from the Tucson area.

The glossy, two-page flier from Phantom Fireworks includes pictures of an array of fireworks classified under categories such as fountains and novelties, and also promotes a number of assortments with names such as the Wolf Pack, Rolling Thunder, Niagara Falls and Battle of Yorktown.

Individual pyrotechnics feature colorful names such as Screamin' Meemie, Fortress of Fire, Glitterator, Brew-Ha-Ha (which is shaped like a beer stein) and Blooming Flower.

The flier also includes a list of store hours, which run until midnight through Thursday and until 1 a.m. on Friday to accommodate last-minute fireworks buyers.

Arizona law prohibits the possession, use or sale of fireworks, with the exception of novelty items such as poppers and snappers. Getting busted is a Class 3 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

A proposed bill would legalize the use of sparklers and similar devices, though the change wouldn't go into effect for 90 days.

Graham said Phantom Fireworks tells Arizona-based customers, "If you buy them, you pretty much buy them at your own risk," which is why she said the store's salespeople include a safety flier with each purchase.

"We're not advocating breaking the law," Graham said. "In New Mexico, they're completely legal. We tell people to blow them off in New Mexico. What they do with them, though . . . we can't stop them."

It's very likely most, if not all, of the fireworks bought in Road Forks by Tucsonans will be set off locally, said Capt. Tricia Tracy, a spokeswoman for the Tucson Fire Department.

"Our take on it is that all fireworks are dangerous," Tracy said. "Ninety percent of fireworks injuries treated at hospitals are from ones that are federally permitted to be used, and somewhere between one-third and half of the fireworks injuries are to children 14 and under."

In addition to being on the alert for injuries, Tracy said Tucson Fire also expects fireworks-related fires this week — and not just those caused by the city's own display on "A" Mountain.

"We do things to prepare the mountain so it doesn't catch on fire," she said. "But when you're setting them off in the backyard and it lands in the brush, you're going to start a fire."