Illegal fireworks continue to plague Downey

Firefighters put out a roof fire on a Chaney Avenue home on July 4. Photo courtesy Downey Fire Department.

DOWNEY — Downey’s social media was flooded with people complaining about the constant explosions leading up to the Fourth of July. It is very hard for a lot of people to deal with. Yet there are those who somehow purchase illegal fireworks and are all too eager to use them.

And as you can imagine, Downey’s police and fire departments were dealing with the constant barrage of calls from residents reporting illegal fireworks. On July 4, there were over 200 calls placed to the police department by residents reporting illegal fireworks. The calls came in all night, the department said.

Fireworks are classified as explosives yet people treat them like toys. It's not just Downey of course, every city has its problems with fireworks around the holiday. 

It's really too bad that people do not realize the dangers involved with illegal fireworks, and lack respect for their neighbors and their city. Illegal fireworks go off two weeks before the holiday and for a few days after.

I asked the fire and police departments if illegal fireworks would be easier to deal with if “safe and sane” fireworks were prohibited as well.

“When everybody is shooting off fireworks and we are getting the complaints, we can't even get down the streets so it makes it hard to identify where the illegal fireworks are coming from,” said Fire Chief Mark Gillaspie.  

“Ninety percent of our calls were on illegal fireworks,” added Downey Police Lt. Dave Zimmerman. “I hate to equate it with drugs but it's a supply and demand thing. If people want them they are going to get them.”   

On the Fourth, Downey firefighters responded to nine incidents related to fireworks. There were likely more but a lot of people put fires out on their own and don’t call the fire department. 

Downey police officers cited 40 people on the Fourth of July. Those fines are $2,000 each. 

The police department placed notices in the newspaper and on social media that anyone caught with Illegal fireworks would be fined. And on the Fourth, no written warnings were given that night, only citations. 

Yet that doesn’t seem to be much of a deterrent. The explosions were constant. 

The way the law is written, a person must be “caught in the act” in order for the police department to issue a citation. 

“Most people are not willing to come forward to report a neighbor,” Gillaspie said. “So most go unchecked. 

“At night it is very difficult and when they see us coming, they stop,” said Zimmerman.  

There used to be a fire department task force who in the off season would track illegal fireworks and try to identify people who had them, but Chief Gillaspie said there just doesn’t seem to be a lot of support for that now in this economy. 

The temperature on a firework can reach 2,000 degrees, Gillaspie said, a house fire is 450 degrees, so fireworks can be up to five times as hot as that. 

It is also really unfortunate that the city’s pets also have to deal with the constant explosions. They are terrified all night. 

Denise Woodside, executive director of the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA) said animal runaways were actually down this July 4, which she attributed to more people being home with their pets.

But even pets kept indoors with their owners felt the effects of the fireworks. 

“You can never predict the behavior that is going to come out of an animal experiencing something like this,” Woodside said. “You could experience things like shaking, nervousness, pacing, panting and strange behavior like trying to jump or hide and trying to escape.”

She does recommend that every pet have a microchip and that the microchip’s information be kept up to date. This makes it a lot easier for SEAACA to identify a lost pet and return it to its owner. SEAACA offers pet microchips for $30.

So there doesn’t seem to be a clear solution and I am sure that next year we can expect more of the same. The holiday is no longer about celebrating our nation’s independence but more about blowing stuff up. 

In fact, I would go so far as to say that most people who are “celebrating” with explosions have no idea or even care what the Fourth of July is actually about. That is really sad.