Health

People all across Greater Boston area complaining of nightly fireworks

PEABODY, Mass. — She’s a mother, with a dog and most nights just wants to go to sleep. But, Sharon, who asked that her last name be left out, has a problem. Fireworks.

For six weeks, she and her family have listened to crackling, exploding illegal fireworks.

“My dog is terrified, my dog won’t go outside now after dark, she’s a rescue dog and she already has enough anxiety issues and this just puts her over the edge,” Sharon explained in a Zoom interview with Boston 25 News.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh canceled the city’s Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Esplanade because of concerns over the spread of coronavirus. Now, city police are flooded with calls from residents who hear blasts from fireworks every night. The call volume has risen 2300% from January to May, according to Walsh.

“You feel scared,” said Quintino Gonzalez, whose nephew’s house was all but destroyed by fireworks lit by someone else last July. There are two buildings owned by the family on Mount Everett Street, Gonzalez says, both were badly damaged which forced 20 people to evacuate after 1 a.m. on July 5, 2019.

Fireworks are illegal without a permit which is granted by fire departments, said Boston Fire Commissioner John Dempsey.

“People don't realize exploded fireworks can get under the porch, in the rubbish they can smolder for a while they can smolder for hours,” Dempsey said.

In Brockton, calls to police for fireworks reports have surged since Memorial Day, according to department records.

From May 25 to June 11 this year, there were 235 reports of fireworks, in 2018, there were eight over that time span, and the year before, 2018, there were 13.

“I really wish the people who put the fireworks off every night would see how this is terrifying babies and terrifying dogs and causing hard-working people to lose sleep,” said Sharon.

“It’s not really just having a few minutes of fun it’s really impacting a lot of people.”

Statewide Fireworks Damage

Between 2010-2019 there were 858 major fire and explosion incidents blamed on illegal fireworks in Massachusetts according to the Department of Fire Services.

The incidents led to 12 injuries for civilians, 40 fire service injuries, and cost $2.9 million in losses which the office considers to be high as most fireworks fires occur in outdoor brush.

In 2019, on July 4, 29-year-old Charlton man suffered puncture wounds to his back and burns to 9% of his body in a fireworks explosion, according to the Massachusetts Burn Injury Reporting System. The same day, a 16-year-old received 1st and 2nd degree burns to his lower body from another fireworks explosion.

The state says 54% of fireworks victims over the last ten years were under the age of 25.

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