Confiscations could hit 10,000 next year, but police citations
for using them are a rarity
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Nearly 10,000 illegal fireworks could be confiscated next Fourth of July if the current trend continues, but officials say there is no ban on “safe and sane” fireworks in the future.
Even with an all-out ban, which every other city in Santa Clara County enforces, public safety workers doubt it would impact the scofflaws who celebrate by setting off illegal fireworks.
Police cited two people this year for possession of illegal fireworks, which fly into the air, move about on the ground or explode and are banned throughout the state. Last year, three people were cited and found guilty of the misdemeanor charge, paying fines of up to $1,000.
Citations are few and far between, officials say, because not only are they responding to an influx of calls, they rarely can identify one person who possesses or fires off an illegal firework.
“We’re dealing a lot with multiple parties, it’s not just one family doing it or one person,” said Ed Bozzo, Gilroy Fire Department division chief. “It’s multiple people out there and trying to catch the person actually igniting them is so difficult.”
Problem areas for police and firefighters this year were Carlyle Court, Hirasaki Avenue and Kelton Drive – particularly Carlyle, where residents blocked access to the street.
Citing everyone in the area of illegal fireworks is not a viable option if no one claims ownership and no one was seen with the fireworks, said Gilroy police Sgt. Kurt Svardal. It would be difficult to prosecute each of the people cited, he said.
“That would not be an official way of dealing with it,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to prove ownership, and that’s very difficult. If there’s a box sitting there on the sidewalk and nobody claims it, who do you say possessed them?”
A total of 7,349 illegal fireworks were confiscated this Independence Day weekend, an increase of more than 2,000 over 2004 and more than 4,000 in 2003.
Before illegal fireworks were so prevalent, firefighters could be more proactive with enforcement and writing more citations, Bozzo said.
“We are in reactive mode (now),” he said. “If we could cite more people, and more people ended up having to go to court and pay the fines and all that, it would definitely be a deterrent.”
A total fireworks ban might help with enforcement efforts, but could do little to further deter violators.
“It would still be a problem. The only thing that occurs when you do ban fireworks is everything that’s out there is illegal, so it’s easier to find the people,” Bozzo said.
Violators also would not be able to mix illegal fireworks in with the “safe and sane” ones like they do now to avoid detection, he said.
Svardal agreed, noting that cities with a ban, such as Morgan Hill, still encounter illegal fireworks.
“There’s no city that I know of that does not have an issue with fireworks on the Fourth of July,” he said. “You can go to other states to buy them, you can do all kinds of different means and people are going to do what they have to do to get them.”
City Councilman Bob Dillon said the city will continue with the current system, keeping “safe and sane” fireworks legal.
“I don’t really think there’s the will to do anything about fireworks,” Dillon said.
The fireworks booths are a life-line for the 16 non-profit groups that run them every year. Gilroy Community Services’ Therapeutic Recreation program had a booth on First Street near Nob Hill this year, and made between $29,000 and $30,000 in sales, according to Cheryl Bolin, supervisor of recreation.
She said sales were up roughly 30 percent over last year, but noted that the group will take home about half that amount after paying the vendor and sales tax. The money will help pay for field trips and special events for adults and youth, including dances, barbecues, and activities classes.
After a dangerous and costly Fourth in 2003, including two major residential fires, Dillon was the only councilman to support a total fireworks ban in the city. That same year, the fire department began creating a mitigation plan to deploy extra police and firefighters and conduct a public education campaign.
For the past two years, the 16 booths selling legal fireworks around the city footed the bill for the stepped-up enforcement on the Fourth, as well as public education efforts leading up to it. The cost of fighting fireworks was $30,500 this year, which the fireworks vendor covered and the non-profit groups running the booths passed on to customers.
“I’m moderately happy that we now have the user fee to pay for our overtime costs for police and fire,” Dillon said. “That’s pretty much all we can do, until someone burns to death – people’s houses burning isn’t going to do it. Seriously.”
Firefighters responded to four small fires this year, although none of them spread to any structures. Fire damage for the previous two years totaled $435,000, most of that coming in 2003. Small fires at two elementary schools on the Fourth are still under investigation, Bozzo said, because indications are they were not accidental.
