LAUREL— The Laurel Volunteer Fire Department is making changes to the public viewing area for the town’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
Thomson Park, which has held thousands of viewers for the show in past years, will have a much smaller section available for viewers this year.
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Captain KC Bieber, who is making preparations for the show, said restorations to the Laurel High School soccer field have prompted the changes. Fireworks have been shot from the soccer field in the past.
“They've poured a lot of money into that, and we don't want to tear that up with our heavy equipment or even just burn the grass,” he said.
Bieber has decided to shoot fireworks from a nearby gravel area instead. That will make much of Thomson Park unsafe to viewers.
“Our main priority is safety. We don't want folks getting hurt. We don't want folks having the possibility of getting hurt,” said Bieber.
He told MTN he has been looking at other options for public viewing, such as nearby streets, the high school stadium seats, practice field, Kiwanis Park and Fir Field.
“You can sit up alongside the high school, along the fence line and into the practice field. And then come the day of potentially, hopefully that stadium is open for seating as well,” he said.
Related: 'Heartbreaking:' Laurel community preps for one final fireworks show at Thomson Park
Bieber estimates the show brings almost 30,000 people to Laurel every year and has been running since the end of World War II.
“I've been watching this show my whole life. I've missed it a grand total of… three times,” he said.
This is Bieber’s third year planning the show. He told MTN he wants to make sure it continues despite the challenges.
“I've been nervous for the last year and just getting a site selected. It ultimately came down to realizing if we ever left Thomson Park that the fourth of July, or at least the fireworks portion of it would probably cease to exist,” he said.
He also said the fireworks show reduces work for emergency services.
“If we're not shooting fireworks, everybody else in town is gonna be shooting fireworks,” he added. “So that's gonna reduce the load even on emergency services by taking one little piece out and occupying people here in the park.”
