Dukes County, MA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Fireworks on Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands are governed by Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 148, Section 39 and the Comprehensive Fire Safety Code at 527 CMR 1.00. MGL c. 148, Sec. 39 prohibits any person from selling, keeping for sale, possessing, controlling, using, exploding, or causing to explode any combustible or explosive composition prepared to produce a visible or audible effect by combustion. The statute expressly covers firecrackers, cherry bombs, silver salutes, M-80s, sparklers, Roman candles, sky rockets, bottle rockets, blank cartridges, toy cannons using explosives, wheels, colored fires, fountains, mines, and serpents. Massachusetts is the only state in the nation that bans all consumer fireworks, including sparklers, and it is also illegal to purchase fireworks legally in another state (such as New Hampshire) and transport them into the Commonwealth. The only exceptions in Sec. 39 are: licensed public displays authorized by the State Fire Marshal and the head of the local fire department; transportation agencies using signals or illumination; licensed theatrical or stage productions; hunting, target shooting, and military uses; toy caps with minimal explosive content; and farmers controlling crop damage with a permit. Public displays must comply with 527 CMR 1.00 (which adopts NFPA 1123 and 1124). Applicants file Form FP-027 (Application/Permit for Supervised Display of Fireworks) at least 20 days in advance with the head of the local fire department, who endorses it and forwards a copy to the State Fire Marshal within 5 days; minimum commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence is required, and only a licensed display operator may shoot the show. In Dukes County, applications are filed with each town's fire department (Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah, and Gosnold). The Edgartown Fourth of July show is staged on a barge in Edgartown Harbor with viewing from Lighthouse Beach, Fuller Street, and Memorial Wharf. The Oak Bluffs fireworks display is held annually on the third Friday of August at Ocean Park, requiring coordinated permits from the State Fire Marshal, U.S. Coast Guard (for the barge), Massachusetts State Police (for Seaview Avenue closure), and the Steamship Authority. Dukes County Beach Management enforces additional restrictions on county-managed beaches: under the Joseph Sylvia State Beach Rules and Regulations, no open fires or fireworks are permitted on the beach, with violations carrying a $50 fine per infraction under Massachusetts General Law Acts 1971 Section 161 unless state law specifies a higher penalty. Norton Point Beach and Eastville Point Beach Rules likewise prohibit open fires (charcoal grills are allowed only if coals are doused, cooled, and buried before leaving), and any group of more than 50 people requires an advance permit from the County Manager's Office. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS) provides 24/7 enforcement support to local fire departments, particularly during the July 4 holiday window.