West Deptford Officially Snuffs This Year's Fireworks

Pack up your lawn chair and put away your blankets—West Deptford won’t be seeing the big colorful booms of fireworks anytime soon.

Following the postponement of the West Deptford Fun Day fireworks on Sept. 8, township committee had a decision to make: reschedule or throw in the towel for this year.

After much speculation over what should be done with the postponed fireworks, the township committee passed a motion Oct. 4 to end the town's contractual obligation with the company.

West Deptford will still take a financial hit, but not one as big if the fireworks went off. Mayor Raymond Chintall said it costs $2,500 to end contractual obligations with the fireworks company, as opposd to $5,000 to shoot off the fireworks at a West Deptford event.

The money saved already has a potential destination. Chintall said the RiverWinds Community Center's pools need a new heater to replace a malfunctioning one. The new heater costs around $18,000—an expense that could benefit from some of the money saved from ending the fireworks contract, the mayor said. 

“Personally, for five minutes of excitement, I'd rather have heated water,” Chintall said.  

Even after the windy, wet weather at Fun Day, officials were searching for another fireworks opportunity. Some floated the high school football team's first home game or homecoming, but the fire chief advised against it because of noise in a residential area.

West Deptford was up against an Oct. 30 deadline to go through with the fireworks or pay the cancellation fee, making talks of choosing another holiday or RiverWinds event to have the display unworkable.

Committeeman Samuel Cianfarini made the motion to end contractual obligations for fireworks, after Chintall spoke on the matter. The motion passed unanimously, pending review of the provisions.

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