People igniting fireworks early frustrate fire fighters
Jun 27, 2017, 7:10 AM
SALT LAKE COUNTY – They’re legal to sell, but it’s still too early to light off fireworks in Utah. That’s not stopping people from all over the Wasatch Front from setting them off, much to the frustration of firefighters.
Fire officials would like it if the temperatures cooled down for an extended period of time. But that’s not in the forecast.
“We’re going to see high heat, low humidity, and probably some wind,” said Unified Fire Authority spokesman Eric Holmes.
Police departments are getting lots of calls from people complaining about their neighbors shooting off fireworks, even though the rules are clear about when it’s legal to do so.
Holmes explains the rules: “Three days before and three days after both of those holidays, and the time requirements are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.”
Along with their concerns about fireworks sparking uncontrollable blazes, they also have concerns about sparklers.
“In the past couple of years, in the emergency rooms, we’ve seen that about 25 percent, or so, of the actual injuries were related directly back to sparklers,” Holmes says.
