Posted on 06/27/24
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - June 27, 2024 - Maryland state and local officials are reminding about the dangers posed by illegal fireworks as the July Fourth holiday nears.
Fireworks are prohibited in five counties — including Harford and Howard counties and Baltimore City — where residents risk a criminal citation and confiscation if caught with fireworks. In addition, anyone who sets off fireworks could receive serious injuries and pose a fire hazard.
Illegal fireworks have been a problem in north Baltimore’s Woodberry neighborhood for some time, residents told 11 News.
“The illegal fireworks, it’s honestly a pretty common occurrence,” Logan Crouch of Woodberry said. “Most of the time, I’ll hear the pops or bangs at night, trying to figure out, was that fireworks? Transformer? Gunfire? Or something like that.”
“(I) can’t sleep sometimes,” Lee Lee Shields of Woodberry said.
The noise disrupts sleep, the fireworks users generate litter, and the explosions can cause serious injuries — and start fires, which happened Tuesday night in Woodberry Park, residents told 11 News. Under very dry and breezy conditions, someone set off illegal fireworks around 6 p.m., sparking a series of grass fires that spread toward nearby homes.
“This is the first time I can recall seeing burn marks scattered around,” Crouch told 11 News.
Baltimore City firefighters arrived to put out the flames.
“That’s not good, that’s not good,” Shields said. “I’m not used to that in the park.”
“With all of the trees scattered around the whole park, I can imagine this fire spreading easily to any of the neighborhoods surrounding us,” Crouch said.
This comes amid a fresh round of warnings from fire and medical officials ahead of the Fourth of July holiday that illegal fireworks include sparklers, saying much of the damage is difficult and even impossible to repair.
“There is always a spike in fireworks-related injuries — and even deaths — in the months surrounding Independence Day,” Howard County Deputy Fire Chief Gordon Wallace said.
“Unfortunately, with the proliferation of social media, the actual number of fireworks injuries in this country has actually been increasing every year for the past 10 to 15 years,” said Dr. Raymond Wittstadt, an attending hand surgeon at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital’s Curtis National Hand Center.
Officials said the best way to protect oneself and family is stick to professional fireworks shows only. There are 97 fireworks shows planned statewide starting Wednesday through next weekend.