City of Knoxville Public Safety Officials are reminding citizens that fireworks are illegal to shoot off in city limits. 

This ordinance may be confusing as there are many firework stands in Knoxville, but due to state legislation, it is legal to buy and possess fireworks in the state and communities can develop their own ordinances. The time that shooting off fireworks is legal is if you have a permit to put on a show, or if you are setting them off in unincorporated areas of Marion County between the hours 6:00-11:00 pm on July 4th. 

The Knoxville Police Department states that their officers have the discretion to give the offender a warning or a citation if they are shooting off fireworks, but the department says to not call 911 for someone shooting them off. Knoxville Fire Chief Cal Wyman says this ordinance is in effect to keep safety a priority in the community.

“It’s just something that we have to enforce and it’s for a good reason. When you’re shooting off fireworks you have to have all of these safety distances in place and we don’t have that in a lot of our community neighborhoods. You are definitely increasing the chance for a fire if not your home, your neighbors home, or other property. We see in some areas where fireworks are used to vandalize equipment and city property.”

If a citation is issued, the fine is $500 in the Knoxville City Limits.