Bomb-sniffing dogs may find fireworks on ferry


June 17, 2008 · Updated 6:28 PM 

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Taking Fireworks on the Ferry? Better make sure they're legal, or a bomb-sniffing dog could get you in trouble.

“Customers purchasing illegal fireworks at a reservation and then boarding a ferry should expect that a canine will detect explosives in their vehicle and, if found, illegal fireworks will be confiscated,” Traci Brewer-Rogstad, director of marine operations, wrote in a recent letter to the media. Illegal fireworks include bottle rockets, missile-type rockets, firecrackers and chasers as well as M80s, M100s and larger noise bombs.

Legal fireworks include sparklers, ground spinners, multi-aerials, Roman candles, parachutes, and cones and fountains. These are legal to take on the ferry — but the dog may "alert" on them; therefore, Brewer-Rogstad urges ferry travelers to keep their fireworks in an easily accessible location so they can be inspected quickly. This can make the difference between making the ferry and waiting several hours for another, she noted.

For more information about the Fourth of July ferry schedules, call Washington State Ferries at 888-808-7977.

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