Despite a citywide ban on fireworks, Little Rock law enforcement officers responded to more than 36 calls concerning fireworks or grass fires caused by Fourth of July fireworks Wednesday, officials said.
Little Rock police spokesman Steve Moore said officers responded to about 20 fireworks calls, and Chief Fire Marshal Naim Salaam said the department responded to 16 calls Wednesday about grass fires caused by fireworks.
In the county, where fireworks are not banned but can still pose a danger in dry weather, Lt. Cody Burk of the Pulaski County sheriff's office said deputies responded to more than 20 reports of grass fires caused by fireworks.
Fireworks calls, Moore said, can prevent dispatchers from answering calls about emergencies and delay the time it takes to send an officer to address violent crimes.
More than a dozen extra officers worked Wednesday to help handle the extra calls, Moore said.
"We had some extra units, which helps," Moore said. "You just have to find the bodies to do it."
Because the ban on fireworks is a city ordinance, officers can give out citations for possessing or lighting fireworks. Moore said at least four fireworks citations were given out Wednesday.
"It's at the officer's discretion [whether to give a citation for fireworks]," Moore said. "It could be a warning the first time, but if you go a second or third time, you cite them."
No one, however, is going to jail for using fireworks in the city, Moore said, unless officers responding to a fireworks call discover something more incriminating.
"Alcohol and fireworks, they go hand in hand -- and that adds to the issue," Moore said. "If officers get there and the person is publicly intoxicated or combative, then somebody might be arrested."
Often, however, Burk said the challenge for law enforcement officers is finding the person lighting fireworks.
"Usually by the time we get out there, the people are gone," Burk said. "We would charge people if we found them, but they are rarely still there."
Burk said anyone who leaves a grass fire started by fireworks can be charged with reckless burning. Whenever that happens, Burk said all the deputies can do is call the fire department to put out the flames.
"That's been going on for several years," Salaam said. "Normally, it's just little small grass fires, and we can handle it pretty easily. What helps is when people call it in very early."
Once a fire reaches a structure or a wooded area, Salaam said the Fire Department's response becomes more complicated.
Even with the extra officers, Moore said keeping up with the number of calls coming in can be difficult. Of the 544 calls officers were dispatched on Wednesday, nearly 10 percent were related to fireworks or gunfire.
"I'm sure there are some people saying they never saw us," Moore said.
Metro on 07/06/2018