Police, fire departments report quiet holiday weekend

Published 7:34 am Friday, February 29, 2008

It turns out the extended Fourth of July weekend was a fairly quiet one for Mill Creek police and crews from Snohomish County Fire District 7.

Fire District 7 deputy chief Jim Evans said the number of calls the district went on during that weekend were more in line with a typical weekday or weekend.

On Sunday, July 4, the district responded to seven fire alarms – a high number for the department based on its daily average – but none of the fire calls were for structure fires, Evans said.

Three of the fire alarm calls were fireworks related, Evans said, and all of them were for small brush fires. Crews responded to a car fire on July 4 that was not fireworks related, Evans said.

Crews, however, were kept busy by assisting other county fire districts with their fires.

Snohomish County Fire District 1 responded to some brush fires that may have been caused by fireworks, according to district spokesperson Leslie Hynes, but none of the brush fires were in the Mill Creek area.

Mill Creek police, meanwhile, reported a very quiet weekend, even on the holiday itself, as no disturbance calls or anything fireworks-related was reported. Police also reported no auto accidents or DUI incidents.

This year fell within a recent pattern Mill Creek police are seeing, according to department spokesperson Becky Erk.

In recent years, the Fourth of July has been one of the department’s slower days.

In 2001, the department received only one call for service, and in 2002 it responded to one traffic accident. Last year, along with this year, police responded to two calls on July 4, neither of which in either year had anything to do with fireworks or alcohol-related incidents.

Fireworks are illegal in the city of Mill Creek.