Law enforcement outlines the ways residents should report illegal fireworks
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (KESQ) – Ahead of the Fourth of July, law enforcement wants to be clear: not all live fireworks are an emergency.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office posted an announcement to residents of the county on Instagram and said reporting illegal fireworks should not involve calling 911.
"Every second counts when lives are on the line. Help us keep our 9-1-1 lines clear for emergencies.
Please do not call 9-1-1 to report fireworks, instead, use our online reporting form at riversidesheriff.org or call 800-950-2444.
Let’s all work together to keep our communities safe!"
Riverside County Sheriff's Office
We checked in with other local agencies, too.
The Palm Springs Police Department echoed RSO and cautioned residents to only call 911 for emergency situations. For reporting fireworks, they listed a non-emergency number: (760) 324-1441.
Tonight, we're also hearing from other agencies like the Indio Police Department. They say they have the "Harmony Line," which is used for illegal firework reports. You can call that number at (442) 300-3104. Dispatchers there assured the public that calling the Harmony Line will not delay response times; instead, they said it could even speed up how quickly your information is taken, since you won't have to wait for available dispatchers.
We had an opportunity to see inside Indio Police Department's dispatch center. They called it the biggest and best centers in the valley, staffed with the best dispatchers – but admitted even it could be overwhelmed by a flood of 911 calls reporting fireworks.
"It was pretty bad. We had a lot of calls," said dispatcher Priscilla Avina. "We [did not have] enough lines to get a hold of all the critical calls. They were taking up the lines and it was hard to get to through it, through to every call."
Dispatchers classify critical calls as ones that involve life-and-death emergencies, medical aids, and incidents that require a police response. Illegal fireworks, notably, do not fall under that category in most situations, especially if residents are reporting loud booms. Of course, it's a different story when fireworks light fires.
Stephanie Monroy, who was selling safe & sane fireworks at the corner of Avenue 44 and Jackson Street in Indio to raise money for her church, had a close call a few years back.
"A couple of years ago, there was a neighbor of mine. They were doing [an] illegal fireworks show, and our house caught on fire," she recounted.
"I just saw it land on my neighbor's tree, and then it spread from their tree to our trees in our home. And thankfully, someone was driving around with some hoses, like water hoses. We were able to put it out because it does take a while for, you know, responders to arrive at the scene."
With the risks associated with illegal fireworks, Sgt. Abraham Plata, with the Indio Police Department, noted $2,000, $3,000, and $5,000 fines that residents lighting them could face.
His advice ahead of the holiday weekend: "We need somebody from the household to be the adult in the house, to tell others in the house not to light up illegal fireworks. Someone from every household needs to step up to the plate and not allow it. Or we need cooperation from the community to report it."
