Manager Donovan Russell suspects the increase in sales this summer at the Phantom Fireworks store in New Kensington can be attributed to upcoming celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday.
The Stevenson Boulevard store, where Russell has worked for six years, typically makes a couple dozen sales per day in early June, the beginning of fireworks season, which concludes after July 4.
But this year, Russell has seen an uptick.
“Most recently, we’ve been picking up to 50, 60, 70, triple digits customers some days,” he said.
The store’s largest sales so far have been $11,000 worth of smokeless celebration candles bought by a local bakery and a $6,500 purchase of finale cakes and mortars for a large-scale fireworks display, Russell said.
The New Kensington location sells products ranging from $10 sparklers to $350 aerial fireworks sets. Forty to 50 new products were introduced this season in honor of America’s 250th birthday.
The bolstered product line matches the excitement Russell has witnessed during conversations with his customers, he said.
“Every year, it’s pretty hard to be unhappy walking into a fireworks store,” he said, “but I’ve especially had a lot of comments about people being excited to celebrate the 250th anniversary and wanting to especially go big this year.”
‘I think they’re wanting to celebrate a little bit more’
Murrysville’s 380 Auction & Discount Warehouse does not specialize in fireworks, but owner James Beacom has noticed a similar increase in sales of the pyrotechnics.
He estimates the store has sold between 20% and 30% more fireworks so far this season compared to this time last year.
“It’s more this year than previous years just because of America’s 250th birthday,” Beacom said. “I think they’re wanting to celebrate a little bit more, which is nice to see.”
380 Auction typically orders between four and seven pallets of fireworks to sell each year. But the store steers clear of aerial fireworks, opting for products with no more than 500 grams of explosive content.
“Being a family-owned business, we just don’t want to see the accidents happening,” Beacom said. “If something happened to a kid — or an adult for that matter — we just don’t want that on our conscience.”
The TNT Fireworks tent set up in East Huntingdon’s Summit Ridge Plaza also doesn’t sell aerial fireworks, but not necessarily by choice, said manager Dalynnda Ladejobi.
Act 43 of 2017 made it illegal for temporary structures, including the seasonal tents popping up in Western Pennsylvania parking lots, to sell consumer-grade fireworks. This includes firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets and similar fireworks that contain a maximum of 50 milligrams of explosive material.
Use of display fireworks — large, professional-grade pyrotechnics used for public shows — requires a permit from the municipality where the display will take place, according to state police.
Fireworks tent manager expects ‘amp in sales’ this week
This is Ladejobi’s first year selling fireworks. After losing her job last year, she and her husband decided to sell their Prince George’s County, Md., home and live out of a renovated school bus until closing on a property in Somerset County.
The vehicle houses a washer, dryer, full-sized fridge and the couple’s four dogs — two German shepherds, a 13-year-old Maltese and a 7-year-old Jack Russell terrier.
“They have it better in there than I have it out here,” Ladejobi joked, longing for the bus’s air conditioning unit on a sunny Thursday.
Sales have been modest so far at the TNT tent — one of about 5,500 nationwide. Ladejobi only saw three customers Wednesday.
“I think what’s happening is they’re going to the stores to try to see what big stuff they can get — the big explosive things that we can’t sell legally — and then maybe they’re coming here,” she said
“This week, we are really going to see an amp in sales.”
What to know about Pennsylvania’s fireworks laws
• Customers have to be age 18 or older to buy fireworks in Pennsylvania.
• Fireworks can’t be ignited or discharged on public or private property without the permission of the property owner.
• The devices can’t be directed at another person, a building or a vehicle.
• Fireworks can’t be discharged within 150 feet of a building or vehicle, even if the building or vehicle is owned by the person setting them off.
• Users cannot be under the influence of alcohol or drugs when discharging fireworks.
(Source: Pennsylvania State Police)