Though residents were seemingly setting them off all over town, the San Jose Police Department made no arrests Thursday night in connection to Fourth of July fireworks, in spite of warnings that violators of a county ban on fireworks would lead to discipline from police.
Recent staff cutbacks and other calls kept police from tracking down those using illegal fireworks Thursday.
NBC Bay Area’s cameras caught fireworks going off all over San Jose on the July Fourth, with sometimes hazardous results. One house caught fire after a bottle rocket burned nearby trees.
Captain Cleo Doss of the San Jose Fire Department says enforcement is nearly impossible due to lack of resources and calls coming in from elsewhere.
Fireworks traditionally light up San Jose on July Fourth, even though they're illegal.
NBC Bay Area’s high-definition network of cameras around the South Bay caught plenty of illegal fireworks going off.
“It's a tough sell,” said Doss, “a community mindset we have to try to change."
The fire department says one of the calls keeping them busy Thursday night involved a minor who suffered a hand injury because of an illegal firework.
"We only have a certain amount of resources to investigate [illegal fireworks],” Doss said.
Police and firefighters would prefer South Bay residents attend fireworks shows like the one going on at Great America in Santa Clara. "Legal" fireworks will be launched Friday night at Great America starting at about 9:30 p.m.
