It’s almost impossible to stop illegal fireworks activity around the Fourth of July, but the city council wants the city to do what it can to lower the noise around the holiday.
Monday night, the council approved a motion introduced by Councillor-at-Large Joanne McKenna asking the city make a reverse 911 call to all residents reminding them that fireworks are illegal, are a fire hazard due to the close proximity of homes in the city, and negatively impact individuals with certain medical conditions and pets.
It is a motion that McKenna has successfully introduced several years in a row.
“This is the third year that I have done this, and it really has made an improvement on July 4th,” said McKenna. “Veterans, pets, and certain people with mental health and disability issues are vulnerable from the noise of fireworks. An old neighborhood like Beachmont, which is so dense, is also vulnerable.”
McKenna said that if a firework landed on a rooftop, it could quickly start a fire that would be hard to contain.
“I have witnessed, not too long ago, six houses going up on Endicott Ave. when a woman threw her cigarette near a wooden porch,” she said. “Let’s try to curb this act of lighting fireworks in July by making a 311 call to all residents in Revere warning them that fireworks are dangerous, deadly, and illegal in Revere and in Massachusetts.”
Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky praised the motion, noting that there were issues on Shirley Avenue with fireworks last year.
“The area was inundated with fireworks and cars and people couldn’t even cross and walk the streets and drive the streets, it was so bad with all the paper,” said Novoselsky. “I know that police are going to concentrate this year on Thornton Street, Highland Street, and Sumner Street area and curb as much as they can.”
Novoselsky did successfully amend the motion so that the 311 call would be sent out in multiple languages.
Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri said he fully supported the motion, but added that he knew that there would still be some people lighting off fireworks in Revere.
“People are going to take their own celebratory stance, so if you do decide to light fireworks, please try to contain it, be safe, be smart with the way you do choose to do it, try to keep the kids from lighting them, and have a safe and happy Fourth of July,” said Silvestri.