Fourth of July a tame one in communities

Fireworks-related incidents sparked minimal attention from fire crews in Lake Forest Park and Shoreline during the Fourth of July weekend.

No incidents were reported in Lake Forest Park during the four-day stretch from July 1-4, said Jim Torpin, division chief of fire prevention for Northshore Fire Department/ King County Fire District 16.

“No citations were written, no incidents were created that caused damage to anybody’s property,” Torpin said, “which is the first year in a long time.”

Northshore Fire Department fire crews, which serve Lake Forest Park and Kenmore, responded to three fires in Kenmore, including one dumpster fire and two small grass fires that caused minimal damage. Although Lake Forest Park has had a fireworks ban for several years, this is the first year a ban was enacted by Kenmore officials.

While conducting an inspection of Lake Forest Park on July 4, Torpin said he noticed some illegal fireworks being shot off, although he said there were fewer than in past years. Due to lack of manpower, he said it is usually up to the police department to enforce the fireworks ban.

“If people are shooting off illegal fireworks and it causes a fire and damages a structure and property, it will be prosecuted,” Torpin said.

Torpin said overall, the number of fires and use of fireworks regardless of the ban was relatively low, considering that in the past 10 years, between 2-3 houses in the area were lost.

Fire crews with the Shoreline Fire Department responded to nine fireworks-related incidents from June 26- July 5, with an estimated total loss of $1,500. Six of the incidents occurred on July 4, said Melanie Granfors, spokesperson for the Shoreline Fire Department.

The fires included five grass fires, and the incineration of two garbage containers, (one at Shoreline Community College and one at Syre Elementary School) one paper recycle bin at Whitman Avenue and 145th Street and one portable restroom at a construction project on 21st Avenue NW. in Richmond Beach.

“I think this is about average,” Granfors said. “Although for a place where fireworks are supposedly banned, we shouldn’t be seeing any.”

Granfors said the fire department did not prepare for the holiday weekend, as they must always exhibit the same amount of readiness, no matter the occasion.