The Bothell Public Safety Committee is looking into changing the city’s ordinance that allows residents to buy and discharge fireworks.

The committee took up the proposal after it was suggested by Bothell resident Ron Swicord at the City Council’s Oct. 7 meeting.

The city allows residents over 16 years old to buy fireworks starting July 1, but have to be at least 18 years old to discharge them and only on the Fourth of July. Residents can only use them between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on the Fourth.

Swicord, however, said that the rules are not followed and police enforcement does not occur. Not only do people light off fireworks on the wrong days, he said, but they also do so well into the night.

Swicord told the council that when he attempts to contact police he is told they can’t respond unless they see a person actually discharging fireworks.

In King County, 26 cities prohibit fireworks, including Kenmore and Kirkland. Swicord believes that this causes many residents from those cities to come into Bothell and light off fireworks in neighborhoods like his on Norway Hill. It’s not the fireworks that bother him, he said, but that the rules for the times and days are not followed.

“They’ll pick a cul de sac, they don’t even know anyone, and start shooting up fireworks,” he said.

He also said there are occasions when the people use highly illegal fireworks that border on explosives.

“These are sticks of dynamite,” he said. “I’m a Vietnam veteran. I know what a cherry bomb and an M80 sound like. It literally rattled my windows, set off my car alarm. There was half a second between the flash and the sound.”

Due to his shake roof, which he said is required by covenant in his community, he is forced to stay home on the Fourth to ensure debris does not catch his house on fire.

“They are a tinderbox waiting to go off,” he said.

Swicord finds irony in the situation, as he considers himself a fireworks enthusiast, but the current law is being ignored.

“I’m the biggest fireworks fan you have,” he said. “If the law was enforced, I’d be fine.”

Bothell City Manager Bob Stowe said that once the public safety committee has examined the matter they will either make a recommendation to the council or decide to keep the ordinance as is. The soonest they would make a recommendation would be in November. However, any new ordinance would not take effect until 2016, according to Stowe.

Swicord believes that changing the ordinance, and how the community celebrates holidays, will save the police department time and resources.

In Kirkland, police say their city-wide ban is fairly effective, but credit is mostly due to citizen compliance. While the city initially had few problems or calls, they saw a rise in complaints following the 2011 annexation that included communities which had had no fireworks. The city still receives quite a few calls, according to Lt. Mike Murray, but officers rarely issue citations, as they treat incidents like a noise complaint and normally get compliance.

KPD responded to 84 firework-related incidents in July, according to police documents obtained through a public information request.

“Nine out of ten it’s an anonymous caller saying there’s fireworks,” he said. “We pretty much tell them they can’t do it and we get compliance that way. If we get flak or feedback the officers confiscate the fireworks and we have issued citations. We use it (the ordinance) more like a tool if we have to.”

The city has a “Celebrate Kirkland!” event at the waterfront where fireworks are discharged over Lake Washington, something Swicord thinks the Bothell  community should look into, offering activities and games for children, as well as vendors or even discussions about the history behind the Fourth of July and the War for Independence.

Repeated calls to Bothell Police seeking comment were not returned.

For more information on the group trying to ban fireworks, contact Swicord at report1973@frontier.com.