23.12.501    RETAIL FIREWORKS SALE

(1) Anyone engaged in the retail sale of permissible fireworks, as defined in 50-37-105, MCA, must obtain a permit if required by the applicable local jurisdiction. The provisions of this rule do not apply if a local ordinance has been adopted pursuant to 7-33-4206, MCA, regulating or prohibiting the retail sale of fireworks.

(2) The retail sale of permissible fireworks may occur only from approved retail business establishments or approved fireworks stands as defined in ARM 23.12.401. Fireworks shall not be sold from or stored in any tent, canopy, or temporary membrane structure. Fireworks may be sold from a mobile trailer which is designed for the transportation of goods, or sold from a fireworks stand, but the public is not permitted inside any mobile structure for the purchase of fireworks.

(3) No person under the age of 18 shall be employed to sell or offer for sale permissible fireworks.

(4) No fireworks may be discharged within 100 feet of a fireworks stand.

(5) No smoking shall be allowed within the fireworks stand. At any place where permissible fireworks are sold or displayed, a sign reading "NO SMOKING" must be posted in letters at least four inches in height and one-half inch in stroke where customers are most likely to read it.

(6) Except as provided in (12), retail sale of fireworks shall be conducted from fireworks stands located at least 300 feet from a church or hospital, 50 feet from any flammable liquid dispensing device or installation, 50 feet from other inhabited areas, and 30 feet from any public roadway. There shall be 5 feet between stands, and 20 feet apart when stands are over 800 square feet aggregate.

(7) Parking of vehicles used to transport Class A or B explosives or flammable and combustible liquids is prohibited within 100 feet of a fireworks stand.

(8) Fireworks stands shall be equipped inside with at least one pressurized water extinguisher with a current tag and a minimum rating of 2A or one garden hose connected to and turned on to an available water supply.

(9) All weeds, dry grass, and combustible material shall be cleared for a minimum distance of 25 feet in all directions from a fireworks stand.

(10) Electrical wiring shall be in a safe condition, and if found upon inspection to be unsafe shall be upgraded to comply with the applicable provisions of the National Electrical Code (NEC) currently adopted by the Building Codes Division of the Department of Labor and Industry.

(11) Open flame devices of any kind are prohibited in or within 25 feet of any fireworks stand.

(12) Portable heaters utilized in booths shall not have exposed heating elements.

(13) Retail sale of fireworks from occupancies other than those authorized by this rule is prohibited, except that fireworks may be sold out of an existing retail business establishment under the following conditions:

(a) The amount of fireworks on display in the customer service area contains an aggregate of no more than one pound of pyrotechnic composition; and

(b) Remaining quantities of fireworks are stored in a cabinet or room designed and constructed to restrict smoke travel that is separate from the customer service area, that has a self-closing door, and that conforms to one of the following:

(i) It is constructed of material sufficient to achieve a one-hour fire resistant-rated barrier between the storage area and the customer service area. The fireworks must be stored in cabinets made of wood or equivalent material that is at least one inch thick, and each cabinet must contain no more than an aggregate of 5 pounds of pyrotechnic composition;

(ii) It is protected by a fire suppression sprinkler system approved by the FPIS or by a fire marshal of the local jurisdiction; or

(iii) The fireworks are contained in a cabinet with casters and constructed of wood at least one inch thick that is covered on all sides with 5/8-inch sheetrock.

(14) All fireworks stands shall be subject to inspection by the FPIS, in accordance with the IFC. Violations shall be handled in accordance with 50-61-115, MCA. If immediate action is necessary to safeguard life and property, the FPIS may issue a stop work order in accordance with IFC Section 113.

 

History: 50-3-102, MCA; IMP, 50-3-102, MCA; NEW, 1991 MAR p. 1283, Eff. 7/26/91; AMD, 1996 MAR p. 439, Eff. 2/9/96; AMD, 1999 MAR p. 2860, Eff. 12/17/99; TRANS, from ARM 23.7.201, 2008 MAR p. 1467, Eff. 7/18/08; AMD, 2010 MAR p. 395, Eff. 2/12/10; AMD, 2013 MAR p. 1338, Eff. 7/26/13; AMD, 2023 MAR p. 212, Eff. 3/11/23.