Tarrant County commissioners were expected to vote Tuesday whether to allow vendors to sell fireworks ahead of Texas Independence Day, but ultimately took no action.
By taking no action, the ordinance allowing fireworks sales for the holiday will not go into effect and such sales will not be permitted in the county.
The proposal suggested fireworks could be sold from Feb. 25 until March 2 — Texas Independence Day. Vendors would have been able to set up in unincorporated areas in Tarrant County.
Possession of fireworks, let alone using them, is prohibited in just about, if not all, Tarrant County cities.
Tarrant County Fire Marshal Randy Renois was opposed to the ordinance.
"Any time we can eliminate any type of fire out there; you can’t stop them all, but you can prevent a lot of them," he said.
Renois said only one person contacted him regarding the sale of fireworks.
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"There was just not a demand for it," Renois said.
Even though the county is not in drought conditions, dead vegetation from the winter season combined with blustery wind conditions could send a small fire into a bigger one, Renois cautioned. A Red Flag Warning was issued by the National Weather Service on Monday for just such extreme fire conditions.
Renois said that Fourth of July fireworks often lead to grass fires in the county, so not having sales in February and March will help hinder the spread of fires.
A burn ban is currently not in effect. Renois says most citizens are well aware of days they should or should not burn in the county. With major wildfires in other states he says local citizens are doing their part to ensure wild fires don't break out here.
The state legislature gave counties the option last May to allow the sale of fireworks leading up to Texas Independence Day, San Jacinto Day (April 21) and Memorial Day.
Collin County leaders voted 3-2 Monday to allow firework sales during the last week of February, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Collin County Fire Marshal Jason Bronwing said he was opposed to fireworks being sold in February because the increased fire risk would require additional staffing, but county leaders decided to try it this year.
"There’s a direct correlation between the firing times and our occurrence of wildfire," he said.
NBC 5's Todd Davis contributed to this report.
