Huntington?s town board voted Tuesday to ban the sale of Silly String and similar products near parades and other public exhibits to avoid damage to the paint on fire trucks.

The board?s 4-1 vote prohibits the sale of the products within 1,500 feet of such events. Supporters of the ban, including local fire officials, say Silly String can strip the paint off fire trucks used in parade processions. That, Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone says, only ends up costing Huntington taxpayers more since they help fund fire districts.

While the law goes into effect immediately, Petrone concedes that the town has no real mechanism for enforcing it. For now, violators will only be talked to by police.

Huntington?s St. Patrick?s Day parade, to be held Sunday, will be the first test of the law.

A vote on the Silly String measure was tabled at the board?s January meeting because the wording could have been construed as a ban against individuals using Silly String at events, said town spokeswoman Fran Evans.

?We don?t want to get into a situation where you?re harassing people along the route of the parade. If they?re unable to purchase it along the route maybe they won?t bring it at all,? Evans said. ?The intent wasn?t to enforce it against individuals using it. The intent was to keep it away from the route in its entirety.?

St. Patrick?s Day parade route