According to this article via WCCO, according to the State Fire Marshall, the lanterns shown above (more than 11,000 set aloft at once in Poland) are illegal in Minnesota and should be removed from store shelves immediately.
From the article:
Sky lanterns have already caused fires in other states, including one that turned deadly for a 10-year-old boy.
And they’re illegal in Minnesota.
[...]
Rosendahl wrote the Minnesota Retailers Association, hoping leaders would share his safety concerns with their 1,500 members.
He wants stores to voluntarily remove these items from their shelves before a Minnesotan gets hurt.
“It’s a dangerous situation waiting to happen,” he said.
While Lazy Lightning was unable to find reports of human death as a result of Chinese lanterns, there have been plenty of articles (here’s one) penned regarding the deaths of livestock and the destruction of property and farm fields due to their launches and later coming back to the ground as a wire shell enticing cows to consume them and cause digestive problems.
While we know the governor believes Minnesotans are not able to care for themselves without the State watching over them and thus fireworks must remain illegal (and yes, they are banned in Minnesota by statute), based on the millons of these that are launched every year and the few issues that result, is banning them in other areas which do allow them really the answer?
Are you surprised that the State Fire Marshall is taking the approach he is to have them removed from store shelves? Should another method be utilized to stop the sale of them across the State? Have you ever used a Chinese lantern yourself? Do you think they are as dangerous to human and livestock lives as the State Fire Marshall and others want you to believe? Should one death be the reason they are no longer available? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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August 8th, 2012 at 8:01 am
My wife is a diet Pepsi drinker, and she will only drink it in bottles. So we get those 6 pack bottles that are retained with the plastic bottle holder things. So when a pack is done, I stand in the kitchen and go scissors crazy cutting the loops so some poor bird doesn’t get strangled by it.
If I’m willing to spend 5 minutes to prevent a 1 in 1million chance of a a bird getting it’s head stuck, I guess I’m o.k. with pulling that stuff off store shelves to save one cow. You can get them off Amazon if you really want to light up the night. And in general while it might seem like a cool thing to do, all you’re really doing is making trash that randomly deposits itself in some other persons yard.
As far as the State Fire Marshal, I guess he is just doing his job. That position requires an advocate for fire safety. I can see why candles floating on hot air going where the wind wills might give him a little issue. I’m generally Anti-Candle when they are just sitting there on the counter (lots of homes have burned down from just such a candle), so I’m with the marshal on that one as well. He does seem to be pushing his point a bit though. Everything is a “dangerous situation waiting to happen”. Just getting in your car and driving on the road is a dangerous situation waiting to happen.
Now should we act on his call to arms? I guess I would want to see the stats. If the issue is statistically insignificant, well then maybe cooler heads will prevail and they’ll find it is simply an insignificant risk?
August 8th, 2012 at 9:39 am
We just lit one of these off last month for my daughter’s birthday. We got it in Michigan when we were there. I love them. They’re pretty and are fun to watch. Just don’t do them during very dry periods. Another example of people being stupid and the government over reacting.
August 8th, 2012 at 10:04 am
We put one in the air for my Daughter every year on her birthday.
At the end of the month, she is having a milestone birthday and it seemed like small beans to just do another Chinese lantern like every year. We decided it would be fun to buy a full size Hot Air Balloon to be launched in her honor without a pilot.
After one hour of free flight, we plan to rig it to explode into flames, hopefully as it flies over Target Field (The Twins have a game that night).
Happy Birthday Sweetie!
August 8th, 2012 at 10:36 am
I saw these at Menards a few months ago and wanted to get one, but for some reason or another didn’t. I wanted to read more about how they worked first.
I’m also one of those cut the plastic loops so sea critters don’t choke to death people, so I’m glad to know about the cows too. And of course, the potential fire hazards…
I didn’t realize fireworks were banned in Minnesota. I thought then they couldn’t sell them here. We’ve definitely bought a few smaller ones and set them off in the driveway, as have our neighbors.
August 8th, 2012 at 11:09 am
automobiles are dangerous, Mmmkay…
August 8th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
I had no idea they were illegal. And, I think I’m leaning towards the side of “that’s fucking dumb.”
Lefty: That cracked me up.
August 8th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
lefty, you’re such a pyromaniac.:)
August 8th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
“fireworks” per se are not illegal in Minnesota. Just the most fun ones are illegal. Sparklers or things that act like sparklers are perfectly legal, thus the only thing sold in the state legally. Wisconsin and South Dakota do good business selling Minnesota residents the good stuff.
August 9th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
There are sky lanterns like these that are fully biodegradable and don’t have the wire in them that causes problems. The reasonable compromise IMO would be to allow those, but not the ones with the metal wire, and with the caveat that they can’t be sold when the risk of fire is high.