With Halloween a week away, this will be the final year you'll be able to purchase fireworks in Port Moody to add some bang to your haunting celebrations.
Mayor Meghan Lahti says an amendment to the city's fireworks bylaw to ban their sale and require a permit for their use will come before council sometime after Oct. 31.
In July, council's governance and legislation committee unanimously approved a recommendation from Port Moody Fire Rescue (PMFR) for just such a change.
In a presentation, PMFR deputy chief Kirk Heaven said while the sale of fireworks is currently allowed in the city between Oct. 24 and Oct. 30 for their use only on Oct. 31, they do cause a nuisance.
He said some of the problems caused by the use of fireworks include impacts to the environment and animals, risks to public safety, litter left behind on roads and properties as well as possible damage.
"Fireworks are unregulated and uncontrolled," Heaven said, adding their use is exacerbated by their ready availability in local shops that set up for the Halloween season.
In a report, PMFR chief Darcy O'Riordan said Port Moody is one of only three cities in Metro Vancouver that still allow the sale and use of consumer fireworks, although that's now down to two after West Vancouver recently banned the sale and private use of fireworks. The only other community where fireworks are still allowed is the District of North Vancouver.
The sale of fireworks is banned in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, but they can still be set off if the user has obtained a permit. The Village of Anmore allows fireworks to be sold between Oct. 24 and 30 and they can be used with a permit from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1.
O'Riordan said banning sales of fireworks would effectively prohibit their use in Port Moody, although some councillors expressed concern about residents potentially skirting the new rules by buying fireworks online.
Heaven said the permit requirement should take care of that.
Port Moody Police Chief Dave Fleugel agreed.
"If we don't have sales, we won’t have a lot of people using fireworks."
Fleugel said the department always ramps up its vigilance before Halloween and often responds to complaints about them being set off, so enforcement of the new rules "shouldn't be a problem."
At least one shop opened in Port Moody today, Oct. 24, in a small strip plaza on St. Johns Street.
It's the only location in B.C. for Phatboy Fireworks that calls itself a "leading retailer and wholesaler of fireworks in Canada." At one time, the company boasted more than 20 stores in the province, according to its website.
