Plainfield, NJ Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Section 10:9-5(a) is a flat prohibition. No person can offer for sale, expose for sale, sell, possess, use or explode a blank cartridge (except in starter pistols for sporting or athletic events), a toy pistol, toy cannon, toy cane or toy gun in which explosives are used, the type of balloon that needs fire underneath to propel it, firecrackers, torpedoes, sky-rockets, roman candles, bombs, sparklers or other fireworks of like construction. The ban also covers any fireworks containing an explosive or inflammable compound and any tablets or devices commonly used and sold as fireworks. Possession alone is an offense, so a household does not need to light anything to break the rule, and sparklers are named outright.

The one route to a legal discharge is subsection (b). The Director of Public Affairs and Safety or a designee can grant permission to a religious, fraternal or civic organization, a City-sponsored committee or other groups of individuals or organizations. Six conditions attach. The Chiefs of the Police and Fire Divisions must approve the time and place. An experienced and competent operator approved by those same Chiefs must handle the discharge. Permission is not granted for bombs, torpedoes or any fireworks designed to detonate and produce noise or concussion, except that these can be discharged at an event the City approved or sponsored. The operator must furnish property, liability and workmen's compensation insurance in amounts the City requests and approves, with a save harmless clause protecting the City. The Corporation Counsel must approve every policy as to form and sufficiency before permission is granted. The operator must also meet any further conditions the City requests.

The section is a local prohibition adopted in Chapter 10, Article 9, Weapons and Fireworks, and it is separate from the State of New Jersey's own fireworks statutes.