The attempt to allow more fireworks on Oahu has gone out with a whimper, not a bang.

On Wednesday, the City Council abruptly deferred a 2014 carryover bill that would have added non-aerial fountains to the items allowed with a fireworks permit.

The current law restricts purchases to a certain amount of firecrackers, on New Year’s Eve and Day and on July Fourth.

It was the right thing to do, although Council members likely heard from many constitiuents who recall fondly days of yore playing with sparklers and setting off fountains and copious amounts of firecrackers.

Since the near-total ban, though, holiday fireworks injuries and incidents have gone down, as has smoke pollution around the island.

As one Council member remarked about the now-fizzled bill: “It’s kind of a lose-lose.”