A second fireworks stand in the city of Snoqualmie was approved June 10 by the city council.
American Promotional Events Inc. NW applied for a fireworks stand permit for its location in the parking lot of Safeway on SE Douglas Street from June 29 to July 4.
According to Councilmember Katherine Ross, this is the first time American Promotional Events has applied for a permit in the city.
The permit was brought to council after a 2-1 vote by the public safety committee. Ross made it clear that, due to concerns about safety and the sales of illegal fireworks, the fire department will inspect the stand to ensure compliance.
In a discussion at the June 10 council meeting, Councilmember Peggy Shepard did not support the approval of the fireworks stand permit due to increasing concerns around fire safety and climate change.
“This will be a second fireworks stand in the city. We need to consider a ban on fireworks in our city period,” she said. “I’m not in favor of adding another fireworks stand. We’ve already approved the other one.”
Shepard was worried that if the city awarded permits to several businesses who met the requirements, there would be a safety concern.
With no other discussion, the council voted to approve American Promotional Events Inc. NW’s permit in a 5-2 vote with Councilmembers Shepard and Matt Laase voting against.
Ross reminded the council the fire department will begin to publish fireworks and safety information as July 4 approaches.
Continuing the discussion around safety, Snoqualmie Fire Department Chief Mark Correira gave a brief report to council regarding a large house fire that took place on June 6. More than 40 firefighters responded to the incident at a home under construction on Fairway Place.
Correira said this was the second fire that broke out at this residence, with the first fire on Aug. 4, 2018. The investigator was not concerned about it being an arson related event, and instead has worked with the insurance provider on the investigation.
Because the house was under construction — just posts and beams with no roof — the fire was able to grow and threaten the two adjacent houses.
“Something like that is like a large campfire and it’s just going to burn out of control,” he said.
Firefighters first had to spray the neighboring houses to prevent additional damage. Additional help came from the Fall City and Bellevue fire departments, as well as Eastside Fire and Rescue. No civilians were injured, but two firefighters did suffer minor injuries.
Correira also mentioned that the fire department is part of an Eastside hazmat consortium, and a hazmat team was sent from Woodinville to handle air monitoring and decontamination.
