Four Fireworks Firms Agree to $100,000 Civil Penalty for Importing Violative Fireworks

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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Dec 08, 2010, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that Jake's Fireworks Inc. and its affiliated companies, Far East Imports Inc. and Wholesale Fireworks Enterprises LLC, of Pittsburg, Kan., and Pacific Northwest Fireworks Inc. of Aberdeen, Wash., have agreed to pay a $100,000 civil penalty for importing consumer fireworks that failed to comply with federal fireworks regulations.

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The penalty agreement settles CPSC's allegations that the firms knowingly imported more than 200,000 consumer fireworks between December 2006 and September 2007 that were banned hazardous substances.

As the firms' fireworks were entering the United States, CPSC detained and tested them, determining that they contained too much of the pyrotechnic composition used to create the audible report (or blast). Fireworks with excess pyrotechnic composition can cause serious injury or death if they explode unexpectedly at ground level.

The settlement agreement requires the firms to destroy the violative fireworks within six months, or face additional civil penalties.

In agreeing to the settlement, the firms deny CPSC's allegations that they violated federal law.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $800 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed to a significant decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Under federal law, it is illegal to attempt to sell or re-sell any recalled product.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772, teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Consumers can obtain this press release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov. To join a free e-mail subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission