Pasadena Police See Massive Increase in Service Calls on July 4

The Pasadena Police received 400 calls for service solely about illegal fireworks on July 4.

According to Police Chief John Perez, the fireworks calls exceeded the typical 300 calls for service for all incidents the department averages daily.  

On July 4, 36 citations were issued. Since June 19, 57 were handed out for violating the city’s fireworks ordinance.  

Over the two-week period, 300 pounds of illegal fireworks were seized. That numbers could increase when all of the evidence is tallied. 

“In short, all PPD & PFD members ‘stepped to the plate’ and contributed to last night’s fireworks efforts as well as the regular [calls for service] volume that included the seizure of a firearm,” Perez said.

Perez said this year’s Independence Day was the busiest in his career. 

Helicopter footage of the region showed dozens of professional-grade fireworks exploding over the San Gabriel Valley on Saturday night. 

“Since June 19, the fireworks-related calls for service volume hit a total of 1,200 incidents and it was the busiest 4th of July I have seen in my career,” Perez said.

The city worked hard over the past two months to get its message out that fireworks are illegal in Pasadena.

The annual AmericaFest held at the Rose Bowl was canceled and a virtual celebration was held.  

According to City News Service, July 4 was the second-busiest day ever in calls for service for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, according to Dispatch Supervisor Imy McBride.

The dispatchers usually field 1,000 calls on an average day, McBride said. On July 4th, they handled more than 1,600 calls, including tree, brush and roof fires.

Los Angeles City firefighters responded to 1,770 calls for service from 3 a.m. July 4 to 3 a.m. Sunday, spokesman Nicholas Prange said. The department averaged 1,368 calls per day during the same period in 2019, he said.

The July 4 fires included one that burned trees and the roof of a garden-style apartment building on Wilbur Avenue in Northridge with five people suffering smoke inhalation and 50 residents being displaced, Prange said.

There was also a three-acre brush fire in Shadow Hills and a fire that spread from palm trees to the roof of an apartment building in Reseda.

McBride and Prange said it was unclear whether the fires were related to the increased use of fireworks.

“Despite our plea to obey the law, we saw a significant increase in illegal fireworks activity and possession,” said Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian. “This has been a nationwide concern for several week. With the global pandemic, protests and the start of what could be a catastrophic fire season, the last thing we need are fireworks to cause injury, devastation or even death due to negligence.”

“Our public safety personnel increased enforcement and outreach earlier than ever before and police dispatchers answered a record number of calls related to fireworks. We don’t have an exact reason for the major rise in fireworks activity other than with the Safer At Home Orders people want to get out and are creating activities even with the consequences that come with the crime(s) committed.”