Aside from two small fires and at least one arrest, this year’s
Fourth of July passed without much incident, according to emergency
personnel.
Aside from two small fires and at least one arrest, this year’s Fourth of July passed without much incident, according to emergency personnel.
Gilroy firefighters responded to 16 calls Saturday, 14 of which were medical, Chief Dale Foster said. The other two involved a small bush fire and a mound of smoldering fireworks at unspecified locations, according to Foster. Both fires were quickly extinguished
“It was a pretty quiet Fourth,” Foster said Monday, adding that his employees responded to calls and issued verbal warnings while police issued formal citations and made at least one arrest. That was a departure from 2007, when police and firefighters collectively issued about 40 citations – seven of which were later reversed – for illegal fireworks, and firefighters with binoculars stood atop hilly lookout points surrounding the city, scanning the valley for smoke.
Gilroy is the only city in Santa Clara County to allow “safe and sane” fireworks, which include sparklers and pyrotechnics that never leave the ground. The city outlaws high-flying explosives, such as bottle rockets, M-80s and Roman candles, which have historically caused the majority of fire-related problems around Independence Day. In one recent example, an illegal firework landed on the roof and nearly burned down the El Toro Way home of Jess and Dolores Perez, July 4, 2003.
Of the 67 calls police responded to this year – separate from those firefighters handled – officers made at least one arrest: Bobby Granados, 30, of the 7700 block of Rosanna Street, who police cited for possession of fireworks without a permit along the 6900 block of Chestnut Street. A woman living at the house where Granados reportedly lived said Monday that he no longer lived there Monday.
Granados’ arrest seemed isolated as most of the holiday incidents involved residents complaining about their neighbors, according to Gilroy’s 911 Communication Supervisor Steve Ynzunza.
“Most people were calling to say, ‘Hey, I see my neighbor’s doing something illegal,’ or ‘I see smoke’ – things like that,” Ynzunza said.
The total number of firework-related calls this year – 83 – was down from the 140 or so dispatchers received between 2006 and 2008, Ynzunza said.
In 2007, police arrested 18 people for possessing illegal fireworks, a misdemeanor that requires officers to prove exactly who owns the explosives.
For citations, residents are charged $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $750 for the third.
It was unclear as of press time Monday how many citations police issued July 4 because the watch commanders from that night were out of the office Monday. Records technicians also did not have final numbers and Police Chief Denise Turner was unable to provide specifics.
Sixteen churches, schools and other community groups ran safe and sane booths along First, Tenth, Church and Monterey streets and San Ysidro Avenue. Groups ranging from Victory Outreach – which relies on firework revenues to fund programs that help youth and adults with alcohol and drug addictions – to the Gilroy High School Quarterback Club depend heavily on the annual sales. The Quarterback Club has historically raised between $15,000 to $20,000 from its booth, but this year’s president, Tony Travis, could not be reached for comment.
The city’s Community Services Adaptive Recreation program has also raised about $9,000 a year to sponsor events for mentally and physically handicapped people, but Recreation Supervisor Greg Garcia did not return messages Monday.
Every safe and sane vendor has highly visible warnings about the city’s zero-tolerance approach to illegal fireworks. Safe and sane fireworks are not allowed in fire-prone areas in outer Gilroy, including lands west of Santa Teresa Boulevard along Hecker Pass Highway, off Mantelli Drive, west of Rancho Hills Drive and in Eagle Ridge.
