Sparks were few on Fourth of July – Fireworks incidents reported to police were minimal

Published 4:46 pm Monday, November 24, 2008

By Ruth Longoria

The Fourth of July didn’t spark any major concerns for firefighters on the Island this year, despite — or possibly because of — previous worries over the dangers of pyrotechnic devices. All-in-all, law enforcement officials here said they were happy with the low number of reported incidents.

“There was a lot of good feedback and we’re pleased,” said Ron Elsoe, city public safety director. After the holiday, Elsoe received an e-mail from a resident near the South Mercer Playfield where there were several problems with illegal fireworks in previous years, thanking the city staff and police for their good work in keeping that area free of incidents.

“There were zero fireworks-related injuries and that’s something to be proud of,” he said.

Although Independence Day didn’t produce any fireworks-related injuries to Islanders or firefighters, the day wasn’t without a few hot situations. Firefighters responded to two fires in Dumpsters, both of which may have been caused by improperly disposed of fireworks, said Mercer Island Fire Lt. Stephen Mair. One incident was at the Park on the Lid’s DOT parking area and the other fire was in the garbage area of an Island apartment building.

There were several cases of property damage believed to have been caused by fireworks.

On July 7, a urinal was destroyed and firecracker packaging was found on the floor of the men’s bathroom at Bicentennial Park, 3201 77th Avenue S.E. Damage was estimated at $100.

A mailbox fire at about 12:45 a.m. July 5, in the 4600 block of East Mercer Way is believed to have been started by fireworks. A man driving past the residence saw the burning box. He woke the resident and put out the fire with a bucket of water before police arrived. There was $120 damage to the stand and a newspaper box.

A highly visible presence of law enforcement, school employees and city staff is credited with keeping fireworks out of parks and school grounds, said Island Police Commander Ed Holmes.

“People seemed to respect us being out there and when they asked if they could set off fireworks, they were told `no,’ so they left without any problems,” Holmes said.

Though most situations were snuffed out before they could begin — there were a few arrests and citations for those who couldn’t follow the Island rules.

At about 7 p.m., July 5, three juveniles were banned from Mercerdale Park, 3201 78th Avenue S.E., after a parks employee witnessed the youths setting off a large amount of illegal fireworks in the skateboard area of the park. The park had several signs posted saying that fireworks were not allowed there. The fireworks were confiscated for destruction and the youths’ parents were notified. The kids, a 16- and a 17-year-old males and one 14-year-old female, all Island residents, will be charged with trespassing if they return to the park within one year.

Two juveniles and an 18-year-old man were charged with reckless endangerment, reckless burning, and unlawful possession of fireworks at about 11:30 p.m. July 4 after they were seen setting off fireworks from the East Channel Bridge on Interstate 90. Those fireworks landed on boat decks and one firecracker landed in the water near the police’s Marine Patrol boat. However, no fires resulted from those fireworks.

Folks weren’t so fortunate in a few nearby Seattle-area towns, where there were a handful of fireworks-caused fires, including an apartment building fire in Mill Creek earlier in the week that left 14 families homeless. A house fire on July 4 in Edmonds destroyed a home, injured one firefighter,and sent two other people to the hospital with injuries. A vacant house in Marysville also was destroyed by a fireworks-related fire.

Elsoe said information about this year’s holiday will be evaluated before any decisions are made about what’s allowed next year.

“Whatever happens, next year we’ll continue to have a lot of education beforehand,” he said. “And, you can bet we’ll still have a presence.”