DOWNEY - July 4 was a quiet day for the Downey Fire Department.Only one fire was reported on Sunday, a garage fire at 8417 Conklin Ave., said Capt. Lonnie Croom of the Downey Fire Department. The blaze happened when still-hot legal fireworks were discarded in a trash can. The trash can caught fire, and it spread to the garage, which suffered "quite a bit of damage," Croom said. But other than that, "it was a rather slow day," Croom acknowledged. The fire department usually mans an extra engine from noon to midnight on July 4 to extinguish fires caused by fireworks. The Downey Police Department handled 368 calls for service on July 4 and issued 14 citations for fireworks violations.

********** Published: July 8, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 12