Delaware Administrative Code
Title 1 - Authorities, Boards and Commissions
700 - Delaware State Fire Prevention Commission
704 - Hazardous Processes and Operations
Chapter 2 - Application for Permit for Public Display of Fireworks
Section 704-2-3.0 - Conduct of Display

3.1.1 The discharge, failure to fire, faulty wiring or fallout of any fireworks, or other objects shall not endanger persons, buildings, apartments, structures, forests, or brush nor in any case will the point at which the fireworks are to be fired be less than 200 feet from the nearest permanent building, public highway, railroad, or other means of travel or 50 feet from the nearest above ground telephone or telegraph line, tree, or other overhead obstruction. In no case shall a display be fired within 500 feet of a school, theater, church, hospital, or similar institution.

3.1.2 Spectators at a display of fireworks shall be restrained behind lines or barriers designated by local authorities but in no case less than 200 feet from the point at which the fireworks are to be discharged. Only authorized persons and those in actual charge of the display shall be allowed inside those lines or barriers during the unloading, preparation, or firing of the fireworks.

3.1.3 All fireworks that fire a projectile shall be so set up that the projectile will go into the air as nearly as possible in a vertical direction, provided that where such fireworks are to be fired beside a lake or other large body of water, they may be directed in such a manner that the falling residue from the deflagration will fall into the said body of water.

3.1.4 Any fireworks that remain unfired after the display is concluded shall be immediately disposed of or removed in a manner safe for the particular type of fireworks. The debris from the discharged fireworks shall be properly disposed of by the operator before he leaves that premises. The operator, upon the conclusion of the display, shall make a complete and thorough search for any unfired fireworks or pieces which have failed to fire or function and dispose of them in a safe manner. Such search shall be instituted at the earliest possible time following the conclusion of the display but in no event later than the first period of daylight which follows.

3.1.5 No fireworks display shall be held during any windstorm in which the wind reaches a velocity of more than 20 miles per hour.

3.1.6 All fireworks articles and items at places of display shall be stored in such a manner and in a place secure from fire, accidental discharge, and theft in a manner approved by the State Fire Marshal.

3.1.7 Display operators and assistants shall use only flashlights or electric lighting for artificial illumination.

3.1.8 No smoking or open flames shall be allowed in the storage or display area. Signs to this effect shall be conspicuously posted.

3.1.9 No person shall handle or be involved in the firing of fireworks after the consumption of alcoholic beverages or under the influence of narcotics or drugs which could adversely affect judgment, movements, or stability.

3.1.10 The State Fire Marshal shall have the authority to apply any provision from the Code for Fireworks Display, NFPA 1123 and the Standard for the Use of Pyrotechnics before a Proximate Audience, NFPA 1126, as adopted or modified by these Regulations, as the standards for any provision not specifically covered in this Chapter or in 16 Del.C. Ch. 69.

3.1.11 All fireworks displays shall be under the immediate supervision of a person so licensed as an operator of public fireworks display as called for in § 5.0 of this Chapter.

3.1.12 The provisions of subsection 3.1.11 shall apply from the time that the fireworks arrive at the display site, and until the completion of the display, removal of all remaining fireworks from the site and the removal of all debris.

3.1.13 The person so licensed under this Chapter, who is supervising a display site, shall be responsible for all aspects of the conduct of the display and for all requirements under which the display permit is issued.