Fire departments in SoCal urge residents not to use fireworks on July 4th

On Wednesday, 11 fire departments from Los Angeles County and the larger region including San Bernardino County, joined Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis in urging residents to not use fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July, and instead enjoy one of the many professional fireworks shows.

At the press conference at Los Angeles Fire Department’s Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center, Bass and Solis spoke first about fireworks safety, followed by Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ronnie Villanueva and Los Angeles County Fire Department Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone who talked about the hazards of so-called “safe and sane” fireworks.

Los Angeles Chief of Police Jim McDonnell said fireworks are illegal in the city of Los Angeles which allows “zero tolerance,” and Los Angeles Sheriff Department Assistant Chief Myron Johnson discussed the dangers of gunfire during July 4th get-togethers and prosecution of Illegal fireworks use and sales.

In the training center’s parking lot, demonstrations by pyrotechnic expert Blumes Tracy showed how quickly clothing can catch on fire, and how a watermelon exploded from the equivalent of an M-80 explosive firework.

The 11 fire departments included those in Los Angeles County, and representatives from the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District (Deputy Fire Chief Bertral Washington), Cal Fire (State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant), and USDA Forest Service, Angeles National Forest (Fire Chief Robert Garcia).

See a list of professional fireworks shows at fire.lacounty.gov or lafd.org