FRESNO (KMJ) — The drive to promote firework safety in the Central Valley is in its final few days, as Independence Day is almost upon us.
Statistics from the City of Fresno show 67 outside fires on July 4th 2016 (which include grass fires, trash fires, vehicle fires, and structure fires). A usual daily average for the area is 8.7 blazes.
“There is a marked increase,” reveals Deputy Fire Chief Ted Semonious. “That’s a five-fold increase in the amount of fires that we see on a daily basis.”
He says there is also a rise in the number of injuries reported due to fireworks, and he asking the public to appreciate how dangerous they can be.
“They need to be used in a safe manner, in a clear area, on concrete or asphalt, with no dry brush or vegetation around, and to be lit by a responsible adult.”
Both illegal fireworks and legal ones (marked with the California “Safe and Sane” label) can be harmful in the wrong hands, but those banned for sale within the state are considered far more hazardous. According to CAL FIRE, illegal fireworks include sky rockets, bottle rockets, roman candles, aerial shells, firecrackers and other types that explode, go into the air, or move on the ground in an uncontrollable manner.
“We’re in an area where dry grass, dry shrubbery, vegetation around houses, is a real problem when you talk about fireworks that leave the ground or are uncontrolled once the person lights them.”
That’s because they could start a blaze if they land in the wrong place; if that happens advice is to call 911 immediately.
“Get the fire department started, get the response from the fire department moving in the direction of where the fire is. Protect yourself, protect others, make sure they move away from the area where the fire is,” adds Deputy Chief Semonious.
“If there’s some means of extinguishing the fire: let’s say you had a fire extinguisher standing by, or you had a hose standing by, or a bucket of water standing by, your first course of action could be to attempt to throw the water at the fire.
“But by no means should you approach the fire to a point where you feel that you’re unsafe and try to save that property. Our first goal is to save lives, and property comes second.”
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
