(WSIL) -- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Office of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM) are reminding Illinoisans to keep a few regulations and key safety tips top-of-mind heading into the Fourth of July holiday.
For individuals, community groups, and organizations sponsoring fireworks displays in Illinois, it鈥檚 important to be sure fireworks vendors have the required state licenses and certificates issued by the IDNR and the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) prior to planned fireworks shows.
鈥淎s our local cities, towns and villages begin to plan their annual fireworks shows, we want to ensure the safety of viewers and participants and that starts with ensuring vendors hired to display fireworks are licensed appropriately by the state,鈥澛爏aid IDNR Director Colleen Callahan.
The Illinois Explosives Act requires that anyone who purchases, possesses, uses, transfers, stores or disposes of explosives, including display fireworks, must have an explosives license and explosives storage certificate issued by the IDNR.聽
Anyone possessing, using, transferring or purchasing display fireworks without a valid IDNR individual explosives license or storage certificate is violating Illinois law and could incur penalties.聽 A violation of the Illinois Explosives Act can be a Class 3 felony, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In addition, the IDNR can assess administrative fines for violations involving display fireworks and other explosives.
IDNR currently has 2,201 individuals licensed for the use of explosives in Illinois, of which approximately 760 are specifically for the use of display fireworks. There are 746 certified explosives storage magazines in Illinois, which contain nearly 41 million pounds of explosives. Of those storage magazines, 99 are certified specifically for the storage of display fireworks.
Healthcare facilities reported 163 persons having been injured by fireworks during the 2020 seasonal reporting period, that is up from the 126 injuries reported in 2019. Approximately half of all injured persons suffered multiple injuries. Of those injured, 120 were male.
More than half of all injuries (59 percent) occurred to persons over 22 years of age. Children鈥檚 injuries in the 11-16 age group almost doubled (23) from the previous year of 12.
