On Fourth of July, the use of illegal fireworks was as prevalent as ever across the Bay Area, sparking fires throughout the region.
Between 7 p.m. and midnight, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded to 67 fires. Thirty of those occurred in the 9 p.m. hour. Officials said 16 were confirmed to be caused by fireworks.
San Francisco Fire Department officials said they responded to 110 incidents between 3 p.m. on the Fourth of July, and 3 a.m. on Sunday. Of those, 108 were caused by fireworks. Two were caused by burnt food.
“Those incidents included gas fires, rubbish fires, house fires, car fires, multiple incidents with multiple acres,” Jonathan Baxter, SFFD information officer, said.
Baxter added that extensive pre-planning and work across agencies helped ensure firefighters were able to quickly respond when incidents were reported.
“We were all – and when I say we, there’s the Sheriff’s Department, Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works – we were all out there with you, seeing and hearing the same incidents and responding to those incidents as they did evolve,” Baxter told KCBS Radio.
Authorities say a 1-year-old and 5-year-old both suffered injuries from fireworks that were not lit by their own family.
