Buying Fireworks Online or in-store for the 4th of July under increased Scrutiny

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, and with the buying of 2013 4th of July fireworks ramping up, the federal agencies are reportedly asking firework retailers to be wary of individuals to whom they sell fireworks.

Buying fireworks for the 4th of July is a ritual for many celebrating the nation’s Independence Day. The laws for the sale and use of fireworks vary widely from one state to another, and even vary within states. These laws are designed to make the use and sale of fireworks safe and fun.

Last week, the National Explosives Task Force issued an industry advisory in which it points out that fireworks, designed to be safe for sale to consumers for the 4th, contain components which can easily be used in improvised explosive devices.

In its advisory, the federal task force tells fireworks sellers to watch for suspicious customers. This type of activity would include individuals buying fireworks and asking to buy “commercial grade” fireworks, or asking about how to disassemble or modify fireworks.

Government statistics show that in 2012, Americans bought several hundred million pounds of fireworks. Most reputable companies who sell consumer fireworks do collect personal information from the purchaser and can forward that information to the federal government agency which tightly regulates the sale of fireworks.

In the case of the Boston Marathon bombing, the company who sold some fireworks used to make the bombs, Phantom Fireworks, was able to identify Tsarnaev’s purchase from their database and pass that information on to officials.