By Matt Gomez
Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)
Copyright 2006 Albuquerque Journal
Moriarty firefighters are prepared for the Fourth of July onslaught of fireworks. In fact, they were ready more than a week ago.
Moriarty Fire Chief Karl Ehl said his department will “beef up” fire crews for Independence Day. “Obviously we have a heightened alert level throughout this drought,” Ehl said. “When the fireworks really start going off from about June 20 to July 6, we kind of beef up all of our crews in terms of doubling up on night crews, but specifically for July 3, 4 and 5, we run patrols throughout the city.” Ehl said some crews specifically watch for high-flying aerial fireworks and try to spot any resulting fires.
“Usually we don’t have too many fires,” Ehl said. “Last year, throughout the summer we had two fireworks-related fires. Usually they’re pretty quiet. The city really lights up with a lot of fireworks, but we’ve been lucky and haven’t really seen any fires from them.” Chief Wayne Granger with the Estancia Fire Department said the department will run as normal on the Fourth, with the exception of a fireworks display that will be supervised by the department. “Everything is controlled,” Granger said about the fireworks display. “Just be careful with fireworks,” Granger said. “Sure they can ban them, but we’re still going to have them. People are going to shoot them regardless. We’ve all got to be responsive, which we are.” Granger said law enforcement officials will be patrolling the town at night to watch for fireworks use. Edgewood Fire Department Chief Dennis Parks said no extra staffing or extended shifts are planned for the holiday. “We’re a volunteer district,
so we have just the usual volunteers on duty,” Parks said. “We’re constantly planning and preparing for things like the Fourth of July.”
Parks said the department hasn’t had to deal with too many problems related to the Fourth of July in the past. “We’ve had this rain the last few days — what we’re concerned about right now is that people may forget that we’re still in a drought,” Parks said. “We will hopefully have enough people in the district to handle any situation — that’s what we hope for.”
In addition to its effect on potential fire danger, the drought has also caused a decline in fireworks sales for at least one local business.
“It’s as good as can be expected with the drought,” said William Brandon, manager of Wholesale Fireworks in Moriarty, about recent fireworks sales. “Sales are down a little, but I expected that.” Brandon doesn’t sell fireworks to anyone under 16 years old without adult supervision, he said, and adds a “drop sheet” to each bag outlining 14 tips for using fireworks safely.
“If they use the product like it’s supposed to be used, there’s no problem with it,"Brandon said.
Brandon, who owns a mobile home park in Moriarty, said 90 percent of the store’s sales go out of state. “That’s a good deal because we get the money and tax dollars and the fireworks go out of state,” Brandon said. Kelly McCue, a worker at Southern Lights, a temporary fireworks tent west of Wholesale Fireworks, said things have been slow since the tent officially opened a little more than a week ago. The pace is to be expected, though, she said.
“People shop around and see where it’s cheaper,” McCue said.
McCue said she stresses safety to each of the customers she sees. “I always remind them to be careful because it’s been so dry and there are fires right now,” McCue said. “I would hate to know a fire was started from fireworks.”