Sez the Chief, "I've never seen a fire caused by fireworks."

[NJFFSA16]

Open your eyes Chief Donovan! (Quinebaug, Conn.)

WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A more than 100-year-old
house and most of its contents were destroyed when an illegal
firework shot off by a group of teens landed on the roof, sparking
a fire that resulted in a $2.5 million loss, a fire official said.
Five fire departments battled the blaze at the
12,000-square-foot Oakland County home from shortly after 11 p.m.
Friday until about 7 a.m. Saturday, said Capt. Joe Slawek of the
West Bloomfield Fire Department.
A group of teens had shot the firework, which Slawek called a
"Silver Salute, from the ground into the air from a yard behind
the house. A resident heard the explosion and came outside to find
the roof of the home already ablaze. Dispatchers immediately began
receiving 911 calls from neighbors reporting a large fire.
"It's the equivalent of an eighth of a stick of dynamite, so
there was a substantial amount of gunpowder," Slawek said Sunday.
Slawek said the fire remained under investigation and declined
to comment on the possibility of charges being filed in the
incident.


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Fireworks caused at least four house fires in
the Las Vegas area, causing more than $178,000 damage and leaving
homeless four elderly residents of a group home that was destroyed.
Both legal and illegal fireworks from Independence Day
celebrations sparked the blazes from dusk Friday through dawn
Saturday, fire officials said.
No one was injured in any of the fires.
Four elderly men and women lost their home after neighbors
firing bottle rockets and other illegal pyrotechnics accidentally
set the home's wood-shingle roof on fire, Las Vegas fire spokesman
Tim Szymanski told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Residents of the O & R Group Care Home residents on Comstock
Drive were asleep when the facility's roof caught fire at 12:41
a.m. Saturday, he said.
The roof collapsed, leaving the four occupants homeless and
causing $150,000 of damage. The Red Cross took them to hotels and
Szymanski said they will be taken to different group homes.
The fire remains under investigation and no arrests were made.
In other fires:
- A small boy throwing smoke bombs from his apartment window
into neighboring back yards caused a $25,000 fire that spread to
two houses Friday night.
- A smoldering firework in a trash can started a residential gas
meter afire Saturday morning on Royal Pines Avenue near Far Hills
Avenue and Highway 215. Firefighters said they prevented the fire
from spreading into the house. The damage was estimated at $2,500.
- Another child using legal fireworks started a small fire in
his garage near Ann and Cimarron roads Friday night that caused
$750 in damage.
Pyrotechnics did not cause any serious injuries Friday but
Szymanski said a 3-year-old received minor burns and a 39-year-old
man singed off his eyebrows in other firework-related accidents.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) - July Fourth celebrations caused at
least three fires in the area, fire officials reported.
One of the fires damaged three downtown businesses and a church.
All four received smoke damage after fireworks ignited a trash bin
fire that spread through a business window, fire officials said.
No one was injured.
Authorities said the downtown fire started about 10 p.m. MDT
Friday in the alley behind Rask Restoration Auto Body, Salon of
Style, Tax Express and Anchor Baptist Church. Fire damage was
confined to one room of Tax Express.
Two grassfires in the area also were ignited by fireworks,
officials said. No property damage was reported from those fires.


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

(Lincoln-AP) -- The Rattlesnake Canyon fire on the Colville
Indian reservation has grown to more than three thousand acres. And
it's jumping lines built to contain it. The fire is burning on the
north side of the Columbia River across from the town of Lincoln.
East of there, the Paddle fire has consumed 700 acres on the
Spokane Indian reservation. A Bureau of Indian Affairs spokeswoman
says it apparently began with fireworks shot from a boat in Lake
Roosevelt. Some roads have been closed in the area, and people have
been asked to leave the Pierre Campground.

Anyone catching my drift yet?

In Chino Hills, located about 35 miles east of Los Angeles,
about 70 firefighters fully contained a 7-acre blaze sparked by two
juveniles playing with fireworks, said Tony Landin, spokesman for
the Chino Valley Fire District.
The fire charred a hillside behind an elementary school but did
not threaten nearby homes, Landin said. The two youths were taken
into custody and released to their parents, he said.

[NJFFSA16]

Blaze caused one (m) million dollars damage-Washington State

(Kent-AP) -- The Kent Fire Department said today it believes an
apartment fire in a public housing complex last night was caused by
fireworks.
Several residents say the blaze started after children in the
area had been throwing fireworks at each other.
22-year-old Tom Heib was visiting his girlfriend nearby and said
he saw a rocket fly through a window. He told the King County
Journal that the curtain went up like dry straw.
The blaze left 10 families homeless and caused about one (m)
million dollars damage.
About 40 residents at the Springwood Apartments in the city's
East Hill neighborhood were evacuated. None of the residents was
hurt, but two firefighters were treated at the scene for
dehydration.
One two-story building at the complex was engulfed in flames by
the time firefighters got there, shortly after 7:15 p-m.

[Adze39]

Something tells me NJ wants to prove a point to Quinebaug's chief. LOL

NJ, maybe you should print all these articles out and mail them to him.

[dfdex1]

possibility of charges being filed

Yes against the chief dogan in long name CT.

[MalahatTwo7]

JUST A LITTLE FURTHER "JUSTIFICATION"

Two Children Severely Burned Over July 4th Weekend

POSTED: 6:56 a.m. EDT July 7, 2003 UPDATED: 7:02 a.m. EDT July 7, 2003

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Two boys from east Orange County are on their way to a burn center in Ohio after suffering burns on their body during the July 4th holiday weekend. The plane left from Orlando Executive Airport enroute to Shriner's Hospital for Children in Cincinnati.

The families left Orlando early Monday morning, heading for Ohio for a long and painful recovery.

Eleven-year-old Jonathan Rowland was severely burned Friday night after lighting a roman candle. The fuse ignited bottle rockets in the pocket of his shorts. Fourteen-year-old Michael Howell, who lives in the same Bithlo neighborhood, was trying to set a lizard on fire Saturday afternoon using gasoline from a plastic jug.

Both boys went to Arnold Palmer Hospital, but will now get specialized burn care at the Shriner's Hospital in Cincinnati.

"My boy he caught some bad luck, but thank God for these Shriner's and Arnold Palmer Hospital. But please, everybody, don't buy fireworks. Don't get 'em near your kids and try to be safe," says Jonathan's father Raymond.

The Shriner's will help these families by paying for all of the boys' medical expenses from now until their 21st birthdays. In return, they ask only that the families help warn others about the dangers of playing with fire.

Copyright 2003 by WFTV.com. All rights reserved

Hey Chief, whaddya think so far??????

[mcaldwell]

Between Canada Day on the 1st, and the American 4th of July, our Village Security boys spent the last week chasing down illegal fireworks displays. It always seems to boggle these people as to why they can't fire roman candles off the deck of their hotel room.

We tried a summer fireworks show (professional) two years ago, and after we spent the night putting out a good dozen spot fires, the resort finally decided to keep the fireworks shows to the winter.

Fireworks + Urban Interface Zone + High Fire Rating = Bad News!

[NJFFSA16]

Hey Chief.....you listening? You might learn something.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Three children were in critical condition
late Monday after being trapped in an apartment fire investigators
suspect was caused by fireworks while they were left without adult
supervision.
The names of the children, all under age 10, were not released.
Two other youngsters were less seriously hurt.
Two boys and a girl were admitted to Le Bonheur Children's
Medical Center. The nature of their injuries was not disclosed.
Witnesses said the children were trapped in the apartment until
neighbors rushed to help and firefighters arrived.
Leon Miller, 35, a neighbor who was living in a homeless shelter
a month ago with his fiancee and their four children, was one of
three men who helped rescue the children.
Also helping were Antonio Rodgers, 29, who was walking down the
street near the north Memphis apartments at the time of the fire,
and another passer-by, Antonio Futch 41.
Miller kicked in the front door of the apartment and pulled two
of the children from the fire.
"I heard all the kids crying," Miller told The Commercial
Appeal. "I kicked it off the hinges."
Later, fire Lt. Todd Grant went into the burning building and
found the third child in the back of the apartment.
"There's bravery on all sides," Fire Department Division Chief
Jerry Crawford said.
The heat and smoke in the apartment kept the citizen rescuers
from entering the back of the apartment.
"I busted a window out and I was on my way in and when I went
in, there was so much smoke I couldn't even see," Rodgers said.
Alvin Benson, chief fire marshal, said investigators were told
that no adults were in the house when the fire began.
"We did notify the Department of Children's Services and they
take it from there," Benson said.
Benson said some of the children may have been playing with
fireworks.
"My investigators have been at the hospital for a good portion
of the day, and that's the angle they've been looking into," he
said.
Monday's rescue was the second by citizens in two days from a
burning residence. On Sunday, neighbors pulled two elderly women
from their home in south Memphis.
Crawford said Miller, who has a construction job now while his
wife has found work at a day care center, will likely be nominated
for a heroism award.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[Bones42]

small side note...

Fourteen-year-old Michael Howell, who lives in the same Bithlo neighborhood, was trying to set a lizard on fire Saturday afternoon using gasoline from a plastic jug.

What the heck is going on in kids minds these days?

[SANDSTROMJM]

Came across these quotes, I feel that they are approprate.

The cure for crime is not in the electric chair but the high chair.

There is but one way to eliminate juvenile delinquency. That is by providing each child in America with competent parents.
J. Edgar Hoover

[MalahatTwo7]

DARN IT NJ!!!!! This 3 hour time zone thing just has got to stop!!!! LOL Ya beat me to it again.

But here is another one from Memphis... is it just me or are they really taking a boot full to the face for fires this past couple of months???

Careless use of fireworks torched apartments

http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1350682

Authorities say they know the cause of Friday's apartment fire. The fire at the Eastview apartments broke out on the Fourth of July, sending five firefighters to the hospital with injuries. It turns out that Fourth of July fireworks were not a cause for celebration at the Eastview Apartments, and the investigation is not over.

Careless use of fireworks torched a portion the Eastview Apartments near Knight Arnold and Hickory Hill Friday, displacing ten families. Nearby hydrants were useless. A busted water line on the apartment property forced firefighters to hook up to a city owned hydrant, about a thousand feet away from the burning building. "We had to cut a fence back here, because a city hydrant was on the other side of the fence, that was the only one we could get that we knew we had adequate water pressure." Fire department officials say the property owners are responsible for the upkeep of hydrants. They're also responsible for making sure there is adequate water pressure. According to property managers, the privately owned hydrants at the complex receive maintenance twice a year, and that a broken pipeline was an unfortunate, and unforeseeable problem.

The clean-up is still underway as contractors dump out charred debris and patch up windows and rooftops. That broken water main has been repaired. The fire department went back to the Eastview Apartments Monday to test the fire hydrants and found they are now up to spec. At this time the property owners are not facing any fines and there are plans to rebuild the unit.

In the meantime the fire marshal says there is still an on-going investigation to track down the people who set off the fireworks that burned the building.

So what's the difference between public and private fire hydrants? All apartment complexes, warehouses, and industrial sites have privately owned fire hydrants. It is the property owners responsibility to maintain the hydrant and pipelines that supply water. MFD inspects private\hydrants at owner's request. The only time the Memphis Fire Department inspects privately owned hydrants...is at the request of the property owner. The fire department is responsible for all other hydrants.

[NJFFSA16]

Nah.....couldn't be fireworks. Chief sez they don't start fires.

(Billings-AP) -- Last week, Granny's antique store in downtown
Billings fell victim to a fire that did considerable damage.
Fire officials quickly determined the store had been the target
of arson. And now Billings police believe they know who's
responsible.
Police have now arrested two boys, one 14, the other 15, in
connection with that fire.
Police Lieutenant Joe Bryce says a witness saw the teenagers
leaving the scene shortly before the fire began.
Authorities say the boys lit fireworks inside the building,
setting off blasts that ultimately caused a fire and about
150-thousand dollars in damage to the building.
One of the teens was arrested last Thursday, the other today.
Both teens are scheduled to appear in Youth Court at the end of
the month.

[NJFFSA16]

(Richland-AP) -- Fireworks are suspected of starting the fire
that caused 200-thousand dollars damage to Badger Mountain
Elementary in Richland.
The Friday night fire started on the roof. Remains of legal and
illegal fireworks were found on the school grounds.
Officials say repairs should be made in time for the new school
year.
(From Dennis Shannon, KONA)

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Anyone in Quinebaug among these forums? Care to comment? Or are your fireworks somehow different?