HUTCHINSON, Kan. - After fireworks ignited several grassfires and destroyed a home during the July Fourth weekend, Hutchinson city officials have had enough. The city council has directed the city staff to prepare an ordinance to ban aerial fireworks and other fireworks that shoot sparks more than 6 feet in any direction.
Fire Chief Kim Forbes says he is nearly 100 percent sure that fireworks started a fire that did $500,000 damage to a home on July 5. The department also extinguished 33 grass fires on July 4. Representatives of two fireworks dealers asked the council not to impose the ban but their suggestions were rejected. The Hutchinson News reports (http://bit.ly/ONQjA5 ) the city plans to contact the Reno County Commission and South Hutchinson City Council to discuss having identical fireworks ordinance.