Fireworks fees fund firefighter training in Ind.

During the four other years the tax has been in effect, the state has collected between $2.4 million and $2.7 million each year

July 08, 2011 07:42 AM

By Niki Kelly
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

INDIANAPOLIS — The fireworks still echoing after a festive Fourth of July weekend are more than just noise — they represent millions of dollars coming into state coffers since the state legalized and taxed the products in 2006.

State budget officials said Indiana took in $2.5 million from the special 5 percent public safety fee on fireworks during fiscal year 2011, which ended June 30. That indicates about $51 million worth of retail fireworks sales in the state during that time.

During the four other years the tax has been in effect, the state has collected between $2.4 million and $2.7 million, for a five- year total of more than $12.5 million.

So where does the money go? Most of it has gone to standardize and upgrade firefighter training around the state. A fund for local disaster relief also has a balance of about $2 million.

“The training in the state of Indiana has greatly increased as well as the standardization,” said Auburn Fire Department Division Chief Doug Cox. “A lot of firefighters now have training that may not have been accessible before.”

Before this pot of money was available, departments around the state handled training on their own. Sometimes local taxpayers paid for it; sometimes the firefighters themselves shelled out the money.

A few fire departments around the state had nice training facilities, but many went without.

Now the state is divided into 10 training councils. The northeast Indiana region receives about $100,000 a year to provide the training, which is free to firefighters.

Cox said the money also pays the instructors and has bought a lot of firefighting props for the region. The equipment is kept in three trailers scattered around the 11 counties and can be moved to accommodate training classes.

Some of the props include chain saws, hose, roof ventilation simulators and live fire simulators. The local district also added a third fixed training hub in Huntington.

John Erickson, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, which ultimately oversees the training and dollars, said the state has also bought a mobile fire trainer and hazardous materials trainer that can be requested anywhere around the state.

In the most recent year that data was available, more than 11,000 firefighters trained on the state equipment.

And Erickson said there are more than just basic training courses available. Some specific classes are for flashover detection and swift water rescues.

“It’s completely different than it used to be,” he said.