Honolulu's new fire chief, Kenneth Silva, has hit the ground running with his forceful call for a ban on consumer fireworks and his call for mandatory installation of sprinklers in residential high-rise buildings.

While these positions are not new to the Fire Department, by making them part of his immediate agenda, Silva adds urgency to what should be common-sense improvements to our community.

Both proposals, as Silva acknowledged, are "tough sells."

In the case of retrofitting for sprinklers, there's the serious issue of costs to individual apartment owners and building operators. The path toward getting these safety features installed runs through tax breaks or other financial incentives. The money "lost" to the city treasury through such breaks would be more than offset by reduced fire protection and insurance costs.

As for fireworks, the battle as always is between public safety and a longtime custom or cultural traditions that encourage individual use of fireworks on the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve.

While many use these fireworks responsibly, there are enough careless users to contribute to a mounting toll of injury (even death) and property damage.

Silva argued that fireworks should be left to the professionals. That makes sense. Grand public displays can be easily as satisfying as homemade rockets going on in the backyard.

And when it comes to professionals, there is no reason why there could not be a professional service for the detonation of firecrackers for good-luck purposes on Chinese New Year's and other appropriate occasions. In fact, that happens today in many instances.

Silva has a big job ahead of him, particularly in this era of terrorist threats and other dangers unimagined a few years ago. He deserves full public support.