ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Fireworks shows in backyards are common on the Fourth of July, but those backyard displays are more than just a loud nuisance—they’re illegal.
But Channel 9 found out a decades-old loophole lets it happen.
According to a waiver people are asked to sign before they buy the high-powered fireworks that shoot up in the air, such fireworks --anything other than sparklers and smoke bombs -- are only supposed to be used to protect property from wildlife.
Customers who buy fireworks from tents are supposed to sign a waiver saying they will only use the fireworks to scare away birds from their farmland or fish hatchery.
It's a loophole created six decades ago, making the sale of the big fireworks legal.
"You could literally see it everywhere from the highway. Even in the neighborhoods. There was literally fireworks all around us," said Orange County resident Sheribel Saurez.
“I think it’s something they shouldn’t do. They’re pretty much signing a false thing. Like false pretense,” said resident Samantha Jimenez.
The state fire marshal’s office said, on average, 230 people in Florida go to the emergency room for firework-related injuries every year around the Fourth of July holiday.
Orange County responded to 24 firework-related calls in the last few weeks.
The state fire marshal’s office said the law is being enforced.
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