Hempfield fire departments ready for giant fireworks retailer
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Practically in the shadow of the tiny Bovard Volunteer Fire Department in Hempfield, Westmoreland County will welcome a new business neighbor Saturday with the grand opening of Phantom of Greensburg — 35,000-square-feet of firecrackers, bottle rockets, bursting fountains, mortar kits and sparklers, to name a few of the explosive goods.
Just a mile away from the firework giant’s newest showroom in the former Toys “R” Us store on Donohoe Road, the fire department with 20 volunteers will be the first dispatched to any fire emergency there.
While admitting the explosive wares at Phantom create a much different potential hazard than the toys that used to be peddled at the location, Greg Saunders, Bovard’s chief since 2003, said the fire department and Hempfield’s code and public safety departments have been preparing and are ready “just like we always have been.”
Township code and safety director James Shaw said Phantom officials gave Hempfield emergency and township code officers a walk-through on May 30, about a week before its soft opening.
“But I want to point out that we do similar preplanning preparation for many facilities. This was not done just because it is fireworks,” Shaw said.
Saunders concurred the walk-through was very helpful and informative, learning the safety training of Phantom’s employees employees, “knowing where the hydrants are located, all the exits of the building and we saw all the supplies are not clustered in the warehouse.”
Saunders and Shaw said they were impressed with the specialized sprinkler system inside the facility.
“It was really helpful … just taking the time to learn what we could be up against,” Saunders said.
“But (Phantom) also pointed out they’ve never had an incident at any of their commercial retail facilities and we certainly plan to keep it that way,” Saunders said.
“Their staff and management certainly seem to have a real good grasp of the importance of safety,” Saunders said.
Saunders remarked that all customers 18 years and older entering the store to browse sparklers, fountains or bottle rockets containing a maximum of 50 milligrams of explosive material will immediately recognize safety takes a priority.
“It’s not like a normal retail store where you just walk in off the street and begin shopping. When you walk in, everybody stops at a safety desk before you begin shopping,” Saunders said.
“If you have a pack of cigarettes in your pocket or a lighter in your possession, they tell you to put it back in your car before you can enter the store,” Saunders said.
Saunders noted if there was a fire incident at the location, multiple units — the township has 12 fire companies — “would definitely roll.”
“Like I said, they are really prepared and so are we,” Saunders said.
Saunders noted that in early 2020, the Bovard department will be christening a new 75-foot aerial truck. He noted that the township made the decision to purchase two new aerial trucks — the second is slated to be delivered to Adamsburg — long before Phantom decided to locate in the township.
Locally, Phantom of Monroeville opened last year in a former Giant Eagle store at 4680 Old William Penn Highway.
Chris Grimes, deputy fire chief at Monroeville Fire Company No. 5, said that municipality’s firefighters have always done a lot of training with emergency medical service personnel at nearby Forbes Hospital , but last year’s opening of the fireworks showroom “certainly made it a lot more significant.”
Grimes added that on any commercial fire call, the Monroeville department dispatches “three engine trucks and a ladder and in the case of a confirmed fire, we also move a rescue and EMS immediately too.”
He said that response has not changed with the recent addition of the new Phantom store.
A change in Pennsylvania law in 2017 has created more brick-and-mortar fireworks stores locating throughout the state.
According to the company’s website, Phantom Fireworks has nearly 80 building locations in 16 states, from Las Vegas to South Florida, and more than 1,500 roadside tent stands in 17 states.
Wholesale Fireworks, a Pittsburg, Kan.-based commercial retailer, is expected to open a store at 80 Gregg Drive, the site of the former Carlton Motel just west of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Irwin exit in North Huntingdon, according to township officials. A contractor is in the process of erecting a metal-framed building at that location.
Messages left seeking an opening date for that store were not immediately returned.