Local fireworks businesses are booming as the summer season begins.

Fireworks store owners say they typically see a rise in fireworks sales leading up to the Fourth of July, but they’ve gotten an early start this Memorial Day.

They say many out-of-state travelers also add a boost to their sales.

“We get a lot of New York people, and [many of them] vacation here, too, so they take the opportunity to come here, buy it, and then blow it off here while they’re on this side of the state line,” said Michelle Szymowski, co-owner of Lake Effect Fireworks in Waterford.

“[Sales will] start picking up starting next week, and usually the week before the Fourth is obviously is our busiest week. So we got plenty of stock right now. We’re actually getting a ship in the next couple of weeks. We’ll have even more new and exciting stuff coming in. So we can’t wait to share that with everyone.”

Store owners also wanted to urge caution when setting off fireworks.

“We always promote firework safety,” said Jake Fitzgerald, a manager at Flagship Fireworks in Edinboro.

“We encourage everyone to throw water down after they shoot down the fireworks. We just want everyone to be safe. We don’t want to start any forest fires, or anything like that. So we have pamphlets that explain firework safety. We make sure that everyone’s safe and, you know, nothing bad happens.”

Source: https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/48993859/fireworks-sales-boom-as-summer-kicks-off