Until 1910, the citizens of Paducah were free to shoot off fireworks at will, essentially wherever and whenever they pleased. As a result, reports of injuries, particularly to the eyes and hands, filled the newspapers around the Fourth of July and Christmas. With every building seemingly made of wood and tar paper, fires were of major concern too.
In the summer of 1909, the local sheriff began cracking down on the amount of fireworks set off in the street, especially on Broadway where chances of accidental injury or fire were greater. And in April of 1910 the City of Paducah officially enacted its first fireworks ordinance. The details of the ordinance specified that the “sale of firework, including crackers, toy blank pistols, and fireworks is prohibited. The ordinance that a special display may be given under the direction of a competent man, and the supervision of the fire chief. The main purpose of the movement is for a sane Fourth and to stop the damage by fire, and the destruction of lives on every national holiday” (Paducah Evening Sun – 4/19/1910).
Many citizens (especially the young crowd) weren’t happy with the new law. Paducah’s ordinance, however, was right in step with the sentiment around the country. A wave of fireworks ordinances swept the nation at the time. Said the Paducah Evening Sun just before Independence Day in 1910, “The fatalities and mutilations by the cannon crackers, toy pistols, toy cannons and other noise makers have aroused the entire country to the necessity of protecting the youth of the land from injury.
As the Fourth approached, local law enforcement took to the papers to clarify their intention to halt the public’s use of fireworks. Chief of Police Singery and Fire Chief Wood vowed to uphold the new ordinance to the letter and arrest any person who violated it.
Their warnings and the ordinance seem to have worked. No arrests were reported on July 5, 1910, nor were any injuries or fires caused by fireworks. In late December of 1910, Fire Chief Wood reported that the year’s total loss to fire in 1910 was $20,000 as compared to a loss of $42,000 the year before. That translates to a savings of about half a million dollars in today’s standards.
Chief Wood attributed the savings to the new fireworks ordinance.
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