Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 167 - Safeguards of persons and property.
167.07 - Manufacture, storage and distribution of matches.

167.07 Manufacture, storage and distribution of matches.
(1) No person may manufacture, store, offer for sale, sell, or otherwise dispose of or distribute, any of the following:
(a) White phosphorus, single-dipped, strike-anywhere matches of the type popularly known as “parlor matches".
(b) White phosphorus, double-dipped, strike-anywhere matches, or other type of double-dipped matches, unless the bulb or first dip of such match is composed of a so-called safety or inert composition, nonignitible on an abrasive surface.
(c) Matches which, when packed in a carton of 500 approximate capacity and placed in an oven maintained at a constant temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit, will ignite in 8 hours.
(d) Blazer, or so-called wind matches, whether of the so-called safety or strike-anywhere type.
(2)
(a) No person may do any of the following:
1. Offer for sale, sell or otherwise dispose of or distribute any matches, unless the package or container in which such matches are packed bears plainly marked on the outside thereof the name of the manufacturer and the brand or trademark under which such matches are sold, disposed of or distributed.
2. Open more than one case of each brand of matches of any type or manufacture at any one time in a retail store where matches are sold or otherwise disposed of.
3. Keep loose boxes or paper-wrapped packages of matches on shelves or stored in a retail store at a height exceeding 5 feet from the floor.
(b) All matches stored in warehouses, except manufacturers' warehouses at the place of manufacture, that contain automatic sprinkler equipment shall be subject to each of the following conditions:
1. The matches shall be kept only in properly secured cases.
2. The matches shall not be piled to a height exceeding 10 feet from the floor.
3. The matches shall not be stored within a horizontal distance of 10 feet from any boiler, furnace, stove or other similar heating apparatus.
4. The matches shall not be within a horizontal distance of 25 feet from any explosive material kept or stored on the same floor.
(c) All matches shall be packed in boxes or suitable packages, containing not more than 700 matches in any one box or package. If more than 300 matches are packed in any one box or package, the matches shall be arranged in 2 nearly equal portions, with the heads of the matches in the 2 portions placed in opposite directions. All boxes containing 350 or more matches shall have placed over the matches a center holding or protecting strip, made of chipboard, not less than 1.25 inches wide and the strip shall be flanged down to hold the matches in position when the box is nested into the shuck or withdrawn from it.
(3) All match boxes or packages shall be packed in strong shipping containers or cases; maximum number of match boxes or packages contained in any one shipping container or case, shall not exceed the following number: - See PDF for table
(4) No shipping container or case constructed of fiber board, corrugated fiber board, or wood, nailed or wirebound, shall exceed a weight, including its contents, of 75 pounds; and no lock-cornered wooden case containing matches shall have a weight, including its contents, exceeding 85 pounds; nor shall any other article or commodity be packed with matches in any such container or case; and all such containers and cases in which matches are packed shall have plainly marked on the outside of the container or case the words “Strike-Anywhere Matches" or “Strike-on-the-Box Matches".
(5) Any person, association or corporation violating this section shall be fined for the first offense not less than $5 nor more than $25, and for each subsequent violation not less than $25.
History: 1997 a. 254.