While holiday revelers thrilled to the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air, East Bay fire crews had little to celebrate this Fourth of July as illegal fireworks fueled an increase in emergency calls over last year.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Hill said Wednesday there were 69 fire responses between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 3 a.m. Wednesday. That compared with 44 fire calls during the same period in 2022.
“That’s a significant difference,” Hill said.
There was one fireworks-related injury — a 66-year-old man in Pleasant Hill injured his hand.
Of those 69 fire calls, Hill said 10 were absolutely caused by fireworks. Another 51 were “likely” caused by fireworks. Only eight were definitely not caused by fireworks, he said.
The most prominent of those calls was at 2:52 a.m. Wednesday in Antioch, where fireworks ignited several cars, a detached garage, and damaged two homes near the area of West Eighth and D streets.
Firefighters had the blaze under control by 3:38 a.m. and no injuries were reported.
The district responded to a total of 194 calls, one hazard investigation, one rescue, two alarms, three public services, four police requests, six accidents, and 95 EMS calls.
Alameda County
It was a similar story in neighboring Alameda County, where illegal fireworks made for a “very busy night” for the Alameda County Fire Department on Tuesday, according to a department spokesperson.
Most of the activity occurred between 10 a.m. and 2 a.m., county fire spokesperson Cheryl Hurd said Wednesday.
The largest fire was called in around 11 p.m. near the 17000 block of Lake Chabot Road in unincorporated Alameda County. The fire spread to 6 acres and required the help of Cal Fire and the East Bay Regional Park District.
Flames from the Lake Chabot Road fire threatened a housing development near Arcadian Drive and Arcadian Court, Hurd said. Crews managed to protect the structures and no homes were burned, nor were any firefighters injured. Investigators suspect that fireworks were involved.
In Union City, a structure fire was reported at 10:23 p.m. in the 35000 block of Begonia Street. The owner of the property, who had previously been displaced by a fire there in March and now lives nearby, reported seeing embers from illegal fireworks in the air, Hurd said.
The fire started in the backyard of the home, which was covered with debris, and it took firefighters an hour and a half to bring it under control.
Hurd reported an over 11 percent increase in fire-related calls this Fourth of July over last year’s calls for service. In all, there were 185 calls Tuesday evening, she said.
Of the fires that have been fully investigated, 17 were found to be fireworks-related. Hurd said the number will rise as more investigations are completed.