‘My least favorite holiday’: Bay Area fire crews brace for annual Fourth of July dangers

Some Bay Area communities allow the use of so-called “safe and sane” fireworks such as hand-held sparklers around July Fourth, even as most ban anything other than professional, licensed shows. The devices are offered as an alternative to illegal fireworks, which explode in the air or move on the ground.

“They might be legal. They’re not safe.” Contra Costa Fire Investigator Matt Larson said at a news conference late last week. “Every single one of those fireworks — including sparklers, including small popping firecrackers — can start a fire. Every one of them can injure you badly. Nothing is ‘safe-and-sane.'”

Fire officials spoke about the danger of fireworks of all varieties as the Fourth of July approached. With temperatures expected to soar this week just before the holiday, any fire danger is a significant fire danger, according to Chelsea Burkett, a spokeswoman for the Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit.

“People using any kind of fireworks, safe and sane or illegal, really contributes to the possibility of there being a fire and it growing significantly, especially with the dry vegetation and wind we’re seeing,” Burkett said.

The arrival of the holiday — on a Thursday, avoiding a 3-day weekend — might help slow the use of illegal fireworks, but nothing would stop it, said Contra Costa Fire Chief Lewis Broschard, who called the night of seemingly unending explosions “my least favorite holiday.”

The forecasted high temperatures are also likely to push many people to spend the day at area waterways, including lakes, rivers and the Delta — where many will enjoy themselves by consuming alcohol or recreational drugs — and “it becomes a dangerous mix,” Broschard said.

Annually, firefighters and other public safety officials throughout the Bay Area and Northern California seek to remind residents and visitors that using fireworks is one of the most dangerous things they can do.

“The most frustrating thing for us are all the emergencies that we are called to that really could’ve been prevented with a little bit of thought,” Burkett said Friday. “People think it won’t happen to them. Every year, it happens.”

All fireworks are illegal in Contra Costa County. The “safe and sane” variety, which includes sparklers and small firecrackers, are sold through local fundraisers and their use is allowed — under conditions including time and location — in Newark, Union City, Dublin, Gilroy, Pacifica and San Bruno. Those fireworks are banned, along with all other fireworks, in the rest of Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

Despite warnings, fire officials said there remains an active black market for illegal fireworks, and use of both the legal and illicit kinds of devices is increasing.

“It’s going up, up, up,” Broschard said. “It does not seem to be abating.”

In Dublin, local nonprofit organizations began selling the safe-and-sane variety Friday and will be allowed to do so through the holiday. Homeowners there can use them during that one-week period but not at multi-housing units or in public areas.

In Santa Clara County, Gilroy is the only city that allows such fireworks. Residents there can purchase them from any permitted fundraising booths to support Gilroy youth and nonprofit groups. Buyers are required to bring their IDs as proof that they are over the age of 18 and a resident of Gilroy.

Buyers of the legal fireworks may use them — only in designated areas — from 9 a.m. Monday through 10 p.m. Thursday.

Two cities in San Mateo County allow safe-and-sane fireworks: Pacifica and San Bruno.

In Pacifica, the devices can be used from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. through Friday. Residents of San Bruno are allowed to discharge their legal fireworks between noon and 9 p.m. through Wednesday and noon to 11 p.m. Thursday.

Regardless of when the devices are used, their usage is always dangerous, Burkett said. This year, the climate and weather conditions have added to the danger.

While this year’s wet winter contributed to the growth of vegetation in the Bay Area, that high brush is now especially susceptible to fires, Burkett said.

She and other fire officials encouraged people to enjoy fireworks by viewing one of the many professional shows set to take place over Bay Area skies Thursday night.

For those using the legal fireworks, Burkett suggested having a water source nearby to quickly put out any fires that might start, as well as not using the fireworks around any kind of vegetation. Fireworks also should be set off in areas with lots of clearance from buildings and brush, such as driveways.

Children should never handle fireworks without supervision, officials said.

“That should just be common sense, but every year we see a young person get injured because they’re not supervised,” Larson said. “Unfortunately, it’s an annual event.”

So, too, are emergencies in the water, officials said. They urged residents to think twice before heading out to an area that’s going to be crowded because the holiday is one of the most popular days for casual boaters. They reminded boaters that drinking on the water is just as illegal as doing so behind the wheel of a car. Drinking and jet skiing also is a no-no.

“The trouble with water is that it can happen in a flash,” Broschard said. “People get in trouble in a heartbeat.”

The beaches and Bay Area waterways may be more crowded than usual during the weekends sandwiching the holiday, as well as on the holiday itself because of the weather that’s arriving. The Fourth of July actually is forecast for a bit of a cooldown after intensifying heat on Tuesday and Wednesday.