Sales Aren’t Booming

Business isn’t exactly skyrocketing at some Albuquerque fireworks stands, but several managers say enough customers are buying smaller fireworks to keep them in business.

The fire danger has made some customers wary of buying bigger fireworks, said Bryan Maes, an employee at a stand near Fourth Street and Guadalupe Trail. He said the buyers are worried that the fireworks are illegal, even though state inspectors certify each stand.

“Some people are a little bit scared to buy illegal ones from us,” he said. “Well, they think they’re illegal.”

Fear of illegal fireworks citations is what kept one customer in Albuquerque this year.

“This year I didn’t go out to Moriarty to get my fireworks,” he said. “You can go out there to get mortars and stuff.”

The fireworks enthusiast spent $45 at the stand Tuesday – less than past years – and he bought more sparklers and smoke balls this year.

Employees at other fireworks stands said they have sold fewer big-ticket items but people are buying more, smaller items to compensate, including sparklers.

Melissa Romero, Albuquerque Fire Department spokeswoman, said firefighters responded to 24 illegal fireworks calls over the weekend, and that number is lower than average.

“We hope that people have gotten the message,” she said.

At a stand near Fourth Street and Osuna, the extreme fire danger made one vendor say he would have been in favor of a ban on all fireworks, despite the potential effect on his business.

“I believe in whatever it’s going to take to get these fires,” stand manager Christian Weber said. “Nobody wants to go out of business, but public safety is No. 1.”

However, Jason Russell, manager of a stand on San Mateo said a ban does not remove human error from the equation, since people can still find illegal fireworks on reservations or outside state lines.

“If you go light this in the bosque, you’re an idiot,” he said. “You should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal