Fire Officials Warn Bay Area Residents to Follow Fireworks Laws, Safety Tips

Fire officials are encouraging Bay Area residents whose cities allow "safe and sane" fireworks this weekend, Pacifica included, to follow several  and pay attention to state regulations.

Although more populated cities such as San Francisco and San Jose do not permit fireworks, several cities besides Pacifica in Alameda, San Mateo, Napa, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma counties allow smaller fireworks that do not explode, dart across the ground or fly through the air, according to Cal Fire.

i think just you know, not having illegal fire works, having safe and sane that have been approved by fire marsahll and making sure they have a nice open area and follow the directions and keep children away and so on

I mean, the last couple years its been fairly uneventful, we didnt have anything, we increase staffing, increasing by four engines additional resources over there, we've got the resources here, we havent had real significant incidents

Local fire departments will be working with law enforcement agencies to make sure fireworks are up to code and are not taken outside jurisdictions where they are legal, Alameda County Fire Department spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said.

"On the 4th of July there are typically more fire reported across the nation than on any other day of the year," she said. "The Alameda County Fire Department has a zero-tolerance policy for illegal fireworks."

Matt Lucett of the North Coast County Fire Authority, which provides coverage to Pacifica, said that despite this statistic, they didn't see much action last year. 

"The last couple years have been fairly uneventful," he said. "We didn't have anything. We increase staffing, though. We're increasing it by four engines, but we haven't had really significant incidents."

Legal fireworks are sold at licensed stands and have the state fire marshal's seal on them, Knowles said.

Even in cities where safe and sane fireworks are sold legally, there are restrictions on when and where they can be used, she said.

In Pacifica, one of two fireworks-sanctioned cities in San Mateo
County, fireworks can only be set off between 9a.m. and 11p.m. through July 5 on and . 

Knowles said anyone in a city that permits fireworks should read the directions, only use fireworks outdoors, stay away from dry grass and other flammables, and have a bucket of water or hose nearby.

Fireworks should never be pointed at another person, she said, and users should not try to relight or fix fireworks that do not work on the first try.

Children also should not be permitted to use fireworks, according to Cal Fire.

Young children suffer the majority of burns caused by fireworks, according to the Central Fire Protection District of Santa Cruz County. Mishandled fireworks also cause millions of dollars in property damage, the district said.

The Bay Area cities that allow safe and sane fireworks are Dublin, Newark and Union City in Alameda County; St. Helena in Napa County; Gilroy in Santa Clara County; Watsonville in Santa Cruz County; and Pacifica and San Bruno in San Mateo County.

Dixon and Rio Vista in Solano County also allow fireworks, as do Cloverdale, Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Sebastopol in Sonoma County.

Several Monterey County cities also allow fireworks: Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Salinas, Seaside and Soledad.

--Bay City News