Northwest Iowa towns, remembering fiery histories, still ban fireworks

For some in the small, northwest Iowa towns of Spencer and Remsen, the fire still burns.

So fireworks must not.

This Fourth of July will be the first in nearly 80 years in which the state says Iowans legally may shoot off home fireworks like bottle rockets and Roman candles.

The governor and legislators earlier this year erased a fireworks ban that had stood since 1938 and made Iowa one of just a handful of states that did not permit home displays. But the new law also gave cities and counties the option of writing their own bans.

Separated by 60 miles but connected by history made nearly 90 years ago that led to a deep distrust of fireworks and shaped state law, Spencer and Remsen kept the ban.

On June 27, 1931, in Spencer, a young boy dropped a lit sparkler into a fireworks display, it is believed. It touched off a conflagration that leveled scores of businesses in just 25 minutes.

Then on July 4, 1936, in Remsen, it is believed children playing with fireworks sparked a fire that destroyed 15 homes and nearly 40 businesses.

Incredibly, no one was killed in either fire. But two years later, Iowa became the first state to ban fireworks.

The ban stood for 79 years, though some legislators tried repeatedly to repeal it. This last session, the measure passed and was signed in time for this Fourth by then-Gov. Terry Branstad.

'We're eliminating an 80-year ban that's been put in place, and Iowans are now going to be able to celebrate the Fourth of July just like many other American citizens across the country ...” said state Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, who guided the bill to passage in the Senate.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, said he was glad to see Iowa eliminate a ban he considered 'the silliest law ever.”

Some in northwest Iowa with long memories do not agree with him.

Spencer

It was hot windy that day in Spencer, according to the Spencer Journal. Roughly 5,000 people lived in town at the time - less than half the current population.

The fire and explosion started in the Bjornstad Drug Store. Firefighters from across northwest Iowa helped battle the blaze. A group in Mason City, more than 100 miles away, was preparing to help when it received word the fire was under control, according to a Sioux City Journal report on the 75th anniversary of the event.

The Spencer fire is the more well-known of the two fireworks-sparked infernos that preceded Iowa's ban. It was the chief reason state Sen. David Johnson, who represents Spencer, gave for opposing the legislation that repealed the state's fireworks ban this year.

The Spencer City Council opted to keep a local ban in place. Under 9t, no one there may display home consumer-grade fireworks within the city limits.

'The discussion (among council members) in all three of the readings on the ordinance basically came down to public safety,” Spencer Mayor Reynold Peterson said. 'We felt the (state) law was hastily written, and other cities have also agreed with that. It's a public safety issue, is what we thought. We thought the law was fine the way it was, so we didn't see any need to change it within the community of Spencer.”

Peterson said no residents of Spencer spoke about fireworks at the council meeting, and he and council members received little correspondence on the topic. He said he thinks that was an indication the community was supportive of the council's decision to maintain a ban,

Asked whether Spencer residents are averse to fireworks in part because of that infamous fire, Peterson laughed.

'I think it's generational,” he said. 'I think the over-50 crowd may still harbor some of those feelings, but I don't think the younger crowd does.”

Communities that ban setting off fireworks still can allow them to be sold. There are four licensed fireworks retailers established in Spencer, according to the Fire Marshal's Office.

Phil Poutre, who is working for the Iowa Fireworks Co.'s temporary site in Spencer, said sales have been good there and improved as the holiday drew closer.

He said people are buying the novelty items that remain legal to use in the city, such as sparklers, and the ones buying mortars and aerial fireworks say they are making plans to display them outside the city.

'Everybody seems excited about it,” Poutre said. 'It's an opportunity to try to move forward from the history of what's happened here, and hopefully, people stay safe.”

Remsen

The Remsen fire started in a tent and, thanks to winds, spread quickly to the Bellmeyer and Hodgen garage, where oil-soaked walls propelled it even more. From there, it spread two blocks north to a lumberyard, grain elevators, a baseball field, a residential neighborhood and more, according to a Sioux City Journal report on the 80th anniversary of the blaze.

Firefighting units, again, from across northwest Iowa rushed to help, and the Army Iowa National Guard was deployed to assist, according to the Journal.

Two days later, the Remsen City Council banned fireworks.

So when the Legislature this year undid the statewide ban, Remsen again chose to keep its own ban in place.

'We decided not to allow them, because of the past history and the damage it did to our town,” Remsen Mayor Joel Fisch said. 'The council and the fire department agreed that we didn't want to run that risk.”

Council member Dick Sievers said he also thinks the state's move to repeal the fireworks ban gave cities and counties too small a window to have reacted. The repeal was signed into law on May 9, and people were able to start shooting off fireworks on June 1.

'The council felt things seemed to be working well as they were,” Sievers said. 'Things happened very quickly with the change in state law.”