GILROY
– Fire Department officials are pushing a three-pronged
fireworks crackdown plan that will keep certain explosives legal in
Gilroy and, in theory, prevent the tragedies of the last Fourth of
July from happening again.
The plan which would increase education, enforcement and fire
suppression efforts before and during July 4 is getting positive
reviews from some City Councilmen still reeling from July 4, 2003,
when Gilroy fire crews responded to seven vegetation fires and two
structure fires caused by fireworks and resulting in $425,000 in
damage.
GILROY – Fire Department officials are pushing a three-pronged fireworks crackdown plan that will keep certain explosives legal in Gilroy and, in theory, prevent the tragedies of the last Fourth of July from happening again.
The plan which would increase education, enforcement and fire suppression efforts before and during July 4 is getting positive reviews from some City Councilmen still reeling from July 4, 2003, when Gilroy fire crews responded to seven vegetation fires and two structure fires caused by fireworks and resulting in $425,000 in damage.
However, the plan figures to meet resistance from some of the local charities that get the precious opportunity to sell fireworks as a fund raiser for their programs. The reason for that resistance is because fire department officials want to increase the cost of permit fees to fireworks wholesalers by 7.3 percent. The wholesalers would likely pass that cost on to the consumer.
“I think we have a compromise plan that we can administer,” said Gilroy Fire Chief Jeff Clet regarding the proposed crackdown.
The higher fees would be passed on from wholesaler to consumer and would be used to cover the costs associated with the increased education, enforcement and suppression efforts.
“I think it’s a goofy system,” said Jeff Orth, a GHS booster who has spent several years helping Gilroy cheerleading squads fund raise. “What it does is make the people who are doing things right (buying legal fireworks) foot the bill for those doing it wrong (using illegal fireworks).”
Gilroy is Santa Clara County’s only city where fireworks are legal. Still, some explosives – such as bottle rockets which explode and move airborne – are not legal in Gilroy.
Councilman Craig Gartman says he feels bad for volunteers like Orth, but is likely to support the fire department’s crackdown plan nonetheless.
“They need to remember that of the two structure fires, one was started with legal fireworks and the other with illegal fireworks,” Gartman said. “I guess if you want to be completely logical you’d charge only half (of 7.3 percent) for legal fireworks.”
Councilman Bob Dillon, who immediately after July 4 wanted his fellow dais members to consider an all-out fireworks ban, said he is ready to support the fire department’s crackdown plan.
“It’s sad that’s the way it is, but the burden falls on legal users,” Dillon said. “I understand the reasoning (of not wanting to foot the bill for illegal fireworks users), but costs can’t always be collected from illegal users and everyone knows that.”
Gilroy Fire Chief Jeff Clet and the department’s systems analyst Geoff Cady derived the 7.3 percent figure by dividing the cost of the new strategy ($30,945) by the amount of fireworks sales last year ($425,000).
Orth calls that formula unfair because the fireworks sales figure is the gross profit, not the net profit.
“The gross is immaterial to a charity,” Orth said. “There are 16 charities that bring in that $425,000 (gross), and I can tell you they’re not keeping $26,000 each. There’s a huge difference between gross and (net) profit with fireworks.”
Critics say banning fireworks outright, which Dillon says still could not find more than one vote of support – his vote – from City Council, will not stop July 4 tragedies. Many fires are caused by illegal fireworks being shot off over dry fields and wood-roofed homes.
And fireworks die-hards also claim that fires resulting from legal explosives – like the blaze that damaged a Westwood Drive apartment to the tune of $125,000 – are usually caused by people who used the fireworks incorrectly.
“The people we should make responsible for covering the costs are the people who didn’t use their head,” Orth said.
The fire department officially believes that the Westwood Drive fire was caused by legal fireworks being used correctly (in the street or driveway). However, a juniper tree nearby ignited when the so-called ground bloom firework spun toward it. The flames from the trees were hot enough to shatter a second story window and curtains hanging in that window caught fire.
The Westwood Drive “perfect storm” of factors was a microcosm of a larger “perfect storm” of unfortunate events last Fourth of July.
The vegetation fires occurred over a six-hour time span from 4 to 10 p.m. on July 4. The structure fires happened at roughly 9:45 and 11:05 at night, prime time for shooting fireworks, legal and illegal.
At one point that fateful night, Gilroy fire crews responded to a car accident involving one of the department’s own vehicles that got hit while looking for illegal fireworks.
The nonstop action created a Catch-22 for Gilroy firefighters. Because crews were busy putting out fires and responding to accidents, resources were unable to confiscate as many illegal fireworks as usual. The GFD still managed to haul in 3,076 illegal fireworks July 4.
After the malaise from the Fourth of July, Dillon asked fellow Council members to consider a fireworks ban in Gilroy. Meanwhile, Clet tried to stay out of the political debate but acknowledged that allowing any fireworks activity in Gilroy flies in the face of the fire department’s mission. Clet also said having enforcement is easier when all fireworks are banned.
The proposed plan calls for increased public education and notification through channel 17, printed media, “zero tolerance” signage and postings at areas not approved for fireworks use.
On the enforcement side of things, the plan calls for three joint enforcement teams composed of three police officers, one fire investigator, one evidence technician, 10 additional police department personnel and a telephone hotline.
For fire suppression, three additional fire engines, four chief officers and 18 additional firefighters would be on duty under the plan. Two additional dispatchers would also be on duty to handle increased calls.
Council must now approve the plan. Council is asking city staff to bring the plan forward at an upcoming meeting along with a plan to recover costs from people who cause damage by using illegal fireworks.
