Love, fireworks in the air: Kitchener committee approves wedding request

A Kitchener committee has officially approved a request that will allow a local couple to wrap up their backyard wedding with a fireworks display.

The request asked for exemptions to three of the city’s ongoing bylaws, including for parks, noise, and fireworks. It points out that the show will be run by a qualified and professional pyrotechnics company, and will only last for approximately five to seven minutes total in Tecumseh Park.

“It is not consumer fireworks, where somebody would be setting them off themselves,” said Director of Enforcement with the City of Kitchener, Gloria MacNeil. “This is actually hiring a pyrotechnic company with a licence who’s got expertise in this field.”

She said a lot of work had gone into the request process, including discussions around the fireworks themselves, along with further community involvement.

“We have built that in and we have had multiple conversations with the Emmerich family around safety concerns and getting the messaging out to the residents so that they’re aware and can choose to make other arrangements if they prefer,” said MacNeil.

It comes as Kitchener council is set to continue discussions around stricter fireworks bylaws or even a possible outright ban at a meeting in April, where further details are set to be brought forward. It means requests for exemptions are incredibly uncommon.

“It’s very rare. We found two instances where permits were issued for fireworks to be let off on our property,” said Chief Fire Prevention Officer with the City of Kitchener, David Heuchert. “That’s dating back to about a dozen years. So it’s very rare.”

While some members of the committee were open to the idea, saying the amount of work and research done so far was a key component, others said it could set a possibly troublesome precedent moving forward.

“Do you have any concerns about this causing confusion,” asked Margaret Johnston, Ward 8 Councillor. “I can already see the Reddit posts that will say, ‘Oh, I didn’t think we were allowed to do this, and now people are doing it in a park.'”

Members continued to say that, while reaching out to the local community is important, questions arise on what could happen if a neighbour in the area raises concern. Ultimately, MacNeil said it shouldn’t raise much in the way of concern though as it’s been possible to make requests such as this for quite some time.

“It’s a permit process that has always been permitted and we are looking at continuing to allow it to happen,” said MacNeil. “I don’t see this being a request that is asked for very often.”

The committee approved the request, but not unanimously, but final and formal approvals are still required from Kitchener council before the big day, set to come at a later date.