Piccolo Pete Ruled Illegal

HARTFORD (AP) — A type of firework called Piccolo Pete that shoots off flames is too dangerous for use in Connecticut, the state Supreme Court ruled last Friday. The court unanimously upheld the state’s ban on the firework, reversing a lower court ruling, a motion heralded by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who supported the ban.

Mr Blumenthal said the decision should finally end persistent efforts by American Promotional Events to deny and challenge the state ban on Piccolo Pete.

“This decision upholds our aggressively argued point that Piccolo Pete fireworks are illegal under state law. Products like Piccolo Pete that shoot sustained flames or produce pyrotechnic effects — beyond showers of sparks or smoke — are plainly prohibited,” he said.

Connecticut law prohibits the sale of fireworks except for sparklers and fountains that emit a shower of sparks or smoke, contain fewer than 100 grams of pyrotechnic mixture and don’t shoot into the air or explode.

“In view of the fact that fireworks are widely banned and otherwise intensely regulated under our statutory scheme, it would be contrary to that scheme to construe it as permitting a dangerous and otherwise prohibited pyrotechnic effect — in the present case a four- to five-inch exposed flame that lasts up to six seconds — merely because that pyrotechnic effect is produced by a firework that emits a shower of colored sparks or smoke,” Justice Richard N. Palmer wrote for the court.

The justices ruled against Piccolo Pete after watching a video of the firework. They concluded Pete emits little smoke to qualify for the exemption.

The fireworks maker, American Promotional Events Inc, is the parent company of TNT Fireworks.

Jerry O’Malley, an attorney representing the Alabama-based fireworks company, said he was disappointed by the ruling. He said the basis of the ruling was different than the reason for the ban, but said the company has not sold the firework in Connecticut since 2005.

“We met all the requirements,” Mr O’Malley said.

The state banned the firework after fire marshals raised safety concerns.

“Fourth of July barbecues are far from our minds, but this decision remains vitally important to protect children from the threat of severe burns that can turn an American holiday into tragedy,” Mr Blumenthal said.

State officials said they were not aware of any other firework sold in Connecticut that produced a flame as large as Piccolo Pete.

A company official testified that Piccolo Pete’s most striking feature was its whistle and argued that it fell within the exception allowed by the law.

A New London Superior Court judge initially upheld the state’s ban, but later reversed the decision when the case was reargued.