After a devastating New Year’s Eve fire at a ski bar in the Swiss Alps killed 40, Massachusetts fire officials have issued a cease-and-desist order to a Florida company that sold fireworks to a restaurant in Fall River.
Authorities believe the Switzerland fire started with sparklers inside champagne bottles that ignited flammable materials around the resort bar’s ceiling. In Massachusetts, those and other fireworks are illegal “without the proper professional licensing, certification, and permits,” state Fire Marshal John M. Davine reminded this week.
“Under no circumstances should they be used as decorations, party favors, or any other form of entertainment in a restaurant, bar, nightclub, or discotheque,” Davine wrote to the state’s fire chiefs on Tuesday. “Any business that possesses these devices should immediately notify their local fire department, which should take custody of the items for safe disposal.”
The Department of Fire Services also issued a cease-and-desist letter to King of Sparklers LLC, a Florida-based party store and website that had shipped cake sparklers to at least one Massachusetts restaurant in Fall River.
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According to its website, King of Sparklers — a nationwide fireworks distributor — has been in business since 2008, with its owners having a combined 20 years of experience in the pyrotechnic industry.
The website says the business “caters exclusively to the following industries: Nightclubs, Lounges, Restaurants, Hotels, Wedding services, Birthday services, Promoters, Vip Hosts & all others who offer Hospitality related services.”
A person who answered the phone at the Florida business on Tuesday took a reporter’s contact information and said they would share the message.
A picture of the cake sparklers confiscated by the Fall River Fire Department from a city restaurant.Fall River Fire Department
Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said in a Jan. 3 press release that his department recently confiscated sparkler devices from a city restaurant that believed them to be safe for indoor birthday celebrations based on marketing claims. He did not name the restaurant.
Bacon said the sparklers were manufactured in China and “clearly labeled” for outdoor use only.
“When we seize unsafe devices or shut down dangerous practices, no headlines follow, yet those quiet actions prevent loss of life,” Bacon said in a statement. “By raising awareness and enforcing our local fire code, we aim to spare our community the kind of tragedy we’ve witnessed overseas and prevent devastating loss of life here at home.”
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In its letter to King of Sparklers LLC, the Department of Fire Services’ general counsel acknowledged that while the Florida-based business may not be familiar with Massachusetts law, that “does not excuse compliance failures.”
The sparkler shipment violated Massachusetts law and the state’s fire code, the letter stated. The company was ordered to provide a full accounting of all similar products shipped into Massachusetts, as well as the name and address of each recipient.
Swiss bar fire has ‘chilling similarity’ to Station Nightclub
Davine sent a notice to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission this week, reminding establishments that sparklers and related devices are illegal, and use could “lead to severe consequences for any licensed establishment.“
“More to the point, it would pose a grave life safety hazard to patrons and staff,” Davine said, noting the 2003 Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
The Station Nightclub fire killed 100 people and injured 230 after pyrotechnics ignited flammable foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. It is the deadliest firework accident in U.S. history.
“Massachusetts has taken great strides to make bars, nightclubs, and similar establishments safer since the Station Nightclub Fire of 2003, to which the Switzerland fire bears a chilling similarity,” Davine wrote. “Please join me in ensuring that our residents and visitors are safe when they enter these occupancies.”