For years, Mobile would send out alerts warning residents that it was illegal to shoot off fireworks before New Year’s Eve, or on the Fourth of July.

It was generally understood that fireworks were illegal to discharge anywhere within city limits, and during any time of the year.

But a closer look at the city’s code revealed that wasn’t the case. In fact, the only time Mobile prohibited fireworks was on Mardi Gras Day.

Related: 5 Alabama cities that prohibit most fireworks; will Mobile be the next?

“The assumption here at Government Plaza was that they were illegal,” said Councilman Ben Reynolds.

No longer. The hole within the city’s ordinance that allowed Mobilians to shoot off any kind of firework at any time of the year, excluding Fat Tuesday, was officially closed on Tuesday. The council voted unanimously on a new ordinance prohibiting the sale and use of fireworks within city limits. Fireworks are generally allowed to be shot off and sold within unincorporated areas near the city.

The new ordinance was the result of an internal discovery of the city’s ordinance after Alabama lawmakers, in 2021, adopted a new law that allows novelty fireworks – like sparklers, smoke bombs and black snakes – to be sold within a city’s limits.

“That provoked the city to look into their ordinances and see what a new fireworks ordinance would like look like,” Reynolds said. “They discovered that, well, there are no ordinances banning fireworks in the city.”

Holiday Exceptions

Under the new ordinance, it is now illegal for anyone to possess, store, sell or use any fireworks within the city limits except for the novelty items.

There are some exceptions, including four days in which the fireworks ban is exempted: July 3 and July 4, December 31 and January 1.

Other provisions include:

• Fireworks displays that draw an audience are allowed, as long as they are discharged by a “competent operator” who is approved by a designated fire official.
• A fire official also has the authority to suspend the outdoor use of all fireworks within the city limits if drought conditions or other weather-related conditions exist that could pose a danger to shooting off fireworks. A similar provision exists in Huntsville.
• Fireworks sold or handled in a manner that are a violation of the ordinance are subject to seizure and destruction by the fire official.

The ordinance was a compromise among council members who debated whether to outright prohibit the discharge of fireworks year-round, without excluding the four days surrounding New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July.

“I would have preferred the ordinance we passed was more in line with which exists in other cities in the state,” said Councilman Joel Daves.

Most of Alabama’s largest cities have a complete prohibition of fireworks unless they are discharged as part of a fireworks display on public grounds and overseen by an operator who is permitted to do so.

Some smaller cities have looser ordinances. Guntersville, for example, allows fireworks to be shot off between June 25-July 6, and from December 20-January 3.

In Owens Cross Road in Madison County, fireworks are allowed to be shot off by anyone at least 16 years of age as long as they are within 600 feet of a hospital, asylum, nursing home, church, school or public assembly. Permitted dates include one week prior to and one week after certain holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and New Year’s Day.

Avoiding ‘nanny state’

Reynolds, who favored including the four dates in which Mobilians can shoot off fireworks, said he did not feel it was the local government’s role to overregulate the issue.

“We’ve enjoyed the freedom to enjoy our country’s Independence Day for centuries now,” he said. “I don’t want to take that away from people. I think we should continue to do that. And rolling into the New Year’s and starting a new beginning, people like to shoot off fireworks. The government shouldn’t control everyone on everything.”

He added, “We shouldn’t have a nanny state. People can take personal responsibility for their own actions and shoot fireworks as we’ve enjoyed for centuries.”

Reynolds said he was uncertain whether anyone had been fined before for discharging fireworks, adding that any firework activity in Mobile had been legal – aside from the ban on discharging them on Mardi Gras Day.

The ordinance was approved after some council members express concerns over a prior proposal that would have splintered areas of the city where fireworks would be allowed.

Councilmen William Carroll and Cory Penn, who both represent dense and urban areas of Mobile, said they believed the ordinance would be “unenforceable” if certain geographic areas were carved out as areas where fireworks were prohibited.

“Let’s do all (of the city) or none,” said Councilwoman Gina Gregory.

Reynolds said the final ordinance was a “compromise” and a movement away from an outright ban.

“I certainly didn’t want to ban all fireworks,” he said.