Deputies prepare for hot summer

There were about 600 people at the drum circle Sunday, June 10, at Siesta Key Beach. Some lingered from the volleyball tournament earlier that day and others were regular rhythm seekers.

The combination of volleyball tournaments, 5K races and other beach events coupled with the weekly jam sessions has led to an increasing number of complaints about the drum circle crowd, said Sarasota County Sheriff Sgt. Scott Osborne. And, with Sky King Fireworks distributing flyers that advertise illegal fireworks at Siesta Key condominiums, it could be a hot summer for Sarasota County emergency agencies.

There was some graffiti left on a wall of the main beach pavilion two weeks ago, Osborne said, as an example of complaints.

“It said some things that couldn’t go in print,” he said.

The Sheriff’s Office typically increases its presence on the beach during the summer months, something that will not change this year. But deputies, the Sarasota County Fire Department and Sarasota County Parks and Recreation will tighten focus on illegal firework activity, particularly during the Siesta Key Fourth of July fireworks show, said Siesta Key Association President Catherine Luckner.

Parks and Recreation plans to place warnings about the use of illegal fireworks at each of the Siesta Key beach access points. Osborne told attendees at the SKA meeting June 7 that there would also be digital signs with similar warnings.

Sarasota County Senior Fire Inspector Don Damron said, according to Florida Statute 791, any firework that explodes or travels into the air is illegal — with a few loopholes. Railroad or fish hatchery owners can buy airborne and/or exploding fireworks. But bottle rockets and Roman candles are relatively commonplace at the Fourth of July celebration on Siesta Beach.

Osborne and Damron explained that visitors from different counties, who simply don’t know that types of fireworks are illegal in Sarasota County, make up a majority of violations.

“Two stores (in Sarasota County) sell what I call ‘the hot stuff,’” Damron said. But, because of the loophole in the state statute, there is little he or the Sheriff’s Office can do to block sales. One of those stores is Sky King Fireworks, which distributed four-page advertisements at Beachhaven Condiminiums, Luckner said.
Luckner dropped off some of those flyers, June 12, in Siesta Village at the sheriff substation and contacted the Sky King location in North Sarasota on Washington Boulevard to inform the company it is advertising illegal fireworks. She said Damron is planning to visit the store this week.

A county ordinance passed in 2003 requires those who want to purchase illegal fireworks to buy wholesale and fill out an affidavit asserting they fall within the loophole. This authorizes county fire inspectors to check the dwellings of buyers at any time to confirm the affidavit. Then, inspectors can send a deputy if any wrongdoing is discovered.

Of the nine inspectors under Damron’s command, one is present at the Siesta Key fireworks show and two patrol the show on the Sarasota bayfront.

“In the past I have targeted the dealers (of illegal fireworks), not the public,” Osborne said. “But that can change.”