Monongahela council hears frustration with fireworks

By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com

The Fourth of July holiday may have ended more than a month ago, but that hasn’t stopped some people in Monongahela from shooting off fireworks within the city.
And now Monongahela residents, council members and police are prepared to put a damper on the festivities.
At Wednesday’s council meeting, residents and officials asked Monongahela police Chief Kevin Harris to step up efforts to silence illegal fireworks going off within the city.
Resident Beth Cushey said an unknown person is shooting off fireworks in the direction of her house at least once a week.
“Since Memorial Day, we’ve had fireworks, and not bottle rockets,” said Cushey. “These are mortars. The houses next to him are barely 10 feet away. What if that catches somebody’s house on fire? It was so close to my house, you could hear the crackling. That’s how close it was to my windows.”
Council member Claudia Williams agreed with Cushey about the loudness of the fireworks.
“I can attest to that because my sister lives next door,” Williams said. “Her dog is terrified to go outside.”
Harris said police have been receiving complaints about fireworks since May, and he believed the fireworks are coming from the Mounds Park area, but the problem is that residents are calling too late after the fireworks have been set off. He also said evidence of fireworks, such as shells and debris, are not being found during inspections of properties in the area.
“If you do have these issues, call us immediately,” Harris said. “I’ve talked with residents and they couldn’t give me any information. You need to give us some help.”
Harris said shooting off illegal fireworks is a summary offense.
“Police have to witness it or find evidence,” he said. “We can’t go by what we’re hearing from third parties.”
Harris said the use of fireworks in the City of Monongahela follows state regulations. Certain fireworks were made legal in Pennsylvania in 2017 with these restrictions:
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