Taking the pop out of illegal fireworks

Deirdre Newman

Police and fire officials are taking a tougher approach to illegal

fireworks this year: zero tolerance.

Frustration with illegal fireworks reached a fevered pitch over

the last few weeks as the City Council worked to restrict the sale of

safe-and-sane fireworks. The council ultimately enacted a slew of

restrictions that mainly reduce the number of fireworks stands.

While the announcement of the new approach comes on the heels of

this frustration, the catalyst was the proliferation of illegal

fireworks new Police Chief John Hensley witnessed on the previous

Fourth of July, Hensley said. He approached Fire Chief Jim Ellis

about joining forces to tackle this scourge.

Their preliminary plan is to bring in extra police officers and

firefighters, pair them up and send the teams out to ferret out both

illegal fireworks and legal fireworks being used where they’re not

allowed, like in public parks. Scofflaws will be ticketed.

Former Mayor Sandra Genis, who has railed against the city about

the lack of enforcement on the Fourth of July, said she welcomes the

stricter approach.

“I think that’s a good first step,” Genis said. “I would also like

to see zero tolerance of fireworks outside of the prescribed time.”

For the past three years, Costa Mesa firefighters have been out in

the field, reminding revelers about firework safety, socializing at

block parties and participating in a countywide fireworks survey.

They collect and pass along information based on their observations

of illegal and legal fireworks to the Orange County Fire Authority,

Ellis said.

This summer will be the same with the addition of more

firefighters who will cruise the city in police cars with police

officials scoping out illegal fireworks. They will also get out of

the cars and walk around areas like parks to make sure fireworks are

not being set off illegally, Hensley said.

The firefighters will use their knowledge to identify illegal

fireworks. And the police officers will ticket them.

“It’s a very good pairing of expertise,” Ellis said.

During the myriad discussion of fireworks over the past weeks, the

public parks in the city were referred to as “war zones” on the

Fourth of July.

At the May 3 City Council meeting, Fire Marshal Tom MacDuff, who

has worked the holiday for 26 years, singled out Balearic Park as a

place he considers too risky to even attempt enforcing fireworks’

laws.

“I would not try to enforce anything because I would be afraid for

my life,” MacDuff said.

But Ellis downplayed the term “war zone,” saying it is an

exaggeration.

“I don’t think I’ve had any firefighters express any concern about

their life safety,” Ellis said. “There’s just a tremendous amount of

activity.”

The police officers and firefighters used for the crackdown will

be in addition to the usual patrols, Hensley emphasized.

At the May 17 City Council meeting, Councilman Chris Steel

suggested that the police department let drunk drivers drive through

the city and focus instead on illegal fireworks.

Hensley said the department is capable of dealing with both

crimes.

“Drunk driving is a very, very serious crime and it would not be

something I would even consider to ignore,” Hensley said. “We can do

both.”

Hensley and Ellis will reveal exactly how many people from each

department will be assigned to the extra patrols and what areas they

will cover next month.

Steel said he would like to see the extra police and fire patrols

go out undercover. He also wants the city or the fireworks companies

to send out a flier to every resident in the city letting them know

about the penalties of using illegal fireworks.

He said the majority of illegal fireworks users are undocumented

immigrants.

“We can do this diplomatically and point out that if they lack

citizenship here, then we will report them to the proper

authorities,” Steel said. “You gotta get their attention and let them

know that we mean business.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.