{"id":108050,"date":"2026-01-06T20:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T20:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/108050\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T20:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T20:55:07","slug":"mass-issues-cease-and-desist-to-florida-fireworks-company-after-swiss-bar-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/108050\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass. issues cease-and-desist to Florida fireworks company after Swiss bar fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a devastating New Year\u2019s Eve fire at a ski bar in the Swiss Alps<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Authorities believe the Switzerland fire started with sparklers inside champagne bottles that ignited flammable materials around the resort bar\u2019s ceiling. In Massachusetts, those and other fireworks are illegal \u201cwithout the proper professional licensing, certification, and permits,\u201d state Fire Marshal John M. Davine reminded this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder no circumstances should they be used as decorations, party favors, or any other form of entertainment in a restaurant, bar, nightclub, or discotheque,\u201d Davine wrote to the state\u2019s fire chiefs on Tuesday. \u201cAny business that possesses these devices should immediately notify their local fire department, which should take custody of the items for safe disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more: MassLive investigation uncovers critical failures in fire sprinkler inspections<\/a><\/p>\n

According to its website, King of Sparklers \u2014 a nationwide fireworks distributor \u2014 has been in business since 2008, with its owners having a combined 20 years of experience in the pyrotechnic industry.<\/p>\n

The website says the business \u201ccaters exclusively to the following industries: Nightclubs, Lounges, Restaurants, Hotels, Wedding services, Birthday services, Promoters, Vip Hosts & all others who offer Hospitality related services.\u201d<\/p>\n

A person who answered the phone at the Florida business on Tuesday took a reporter\u2019s contact information and said they would share the message.<\/p>\n

\"CakeA picture of the cake sparklers confiscated by the Fall River Fire Department from a city restaurant.Fall River Fire Department<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Bacon said the sparklers were manufactured in China and \u201cclearly labeled\u201d for outdoor use only.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we seize unsafe devices or shut down dangerous practices, no headlines follow, yet those quiet actions prevent loss of life,\u201d Bacon said in a statement. \u201cBy raising awareness and enforcing our local fire code, we aim to spare our community the kind of tragedy we\u2019ve witnessed overseas and prevent devastating loss of life here at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: Fire safety reforms are hard to enact. Will anything be different after Gabriel House deaths?<\/a><\/p>\n

In its letter to King of Sparklers LLC, the Department of Fire Services\u2019 general counsel acknowledged that while the Florida-based business may not be familiar with Massachusetts law, that \u201cdoes not excuse compliance failures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sparkler shipment violated Massachusetts law and the state\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Swiss bar fire has \u2018chilling similarity\u2019 to Station Nightclub<\/p>\n

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 \u201clead to severe consequences for any licensed establishment.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cMore to the point, it would pose a grave life safety hazard to patrons and staff,\u201d Davine said, noting the 2003 Station Nightclub fire<\/a> in West Warwick, Rhode Island.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMassachusetts 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,\u201d Davine wrote. \u201cPlease join me in ensuring that our residents and visitors are safe when they enter these occupancies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a devastating New Year\u2019s Eve fire at a ski bar in the Swiss Alps killed 40, Massachusetts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[48309,28,30,29,52175],"class_list":{"0":"post-108050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-fireworks","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-headlines","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-sparklers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}