South King County firefighters gearing up for July 4th

The Skyway Fire Department is staffing up for what firefighters predict will be a fiery Fourth of July.
   
Thursday night, they put out the first fire of the season started by fireworks.

Firefighters say this is one of the few times they can predict fires in advance. Skyway is surrounded by cities that have banned fireworks. But they are legal here.

So a lot of people come to Skyway to set off their fireworks often where dry brush can catch fire.

Eric Autry is a former firefighter turned public information officer at King County Fire District 20 headquarters in Skyway.

Even legal fireworks, like sparklers, he said, can be dangerous.

"A sparkler burns at about 1,200 degrees," Autry said, as he held a burning sparkler in his hand. "Glass melts at around 900 degrees.  You know this is something that people put in children's hands to write their name. And we're not saying that it can't be done safely. We just want you to know that this stuff is also dangerous."

Then he showed just how dangerous. He set the lighted sparkler into a cardboard box filled with paper.

"They're burning in my hand," he said, as the paper ignited. "But if this was dry brush over here and somebody just set them down, the amount of time it takes a fire to start, and that fire could be near a home, it could be near someone who's not able to get away, a child. And it spreads very quickly."

Airline pilot Michael Spencer became a fireworks statistic back in 2015.

"I held the mortar shell above my head being very foolish," said Spencer, "lit the fuse and set it off. I heard a very loud pop or bang if you will."

"And then I heard one of my friends scream that 'his hands are gone,'" he said.

Many of Spencer's fingers were blown off.

"This is my left hand," he said showing what is left of it. "I lost my pinky. I lost my ring finger. I lost the tip of my middle finger and then I lost my thumb. And on my right hand then I lost my index finger, the tip of my middle finger and severely damaged the tendons in my thumb."

It took 14 surgeries at Harborview Medical Center for him to return to work.

Despite calamitous stories like this, fireworks remain popular year after year.

"I get the appeal of fireworks," Autry said. "I was a boy. I like playing with fireworks.  But, it's that safety part."

So King County Fire is gearing up for what experience tells them will be a busy Fourth of July.

Skyway is doubling its staffing with professional and volunteer firefighters. Autry sent these photographs of the fireworks debris they have found the day after previous holidays. The most popular areas seem to be the brush beneath the huge transmission lines that go right across Skyway.

"And what we want to do is make sure people are looking at where those fireworks are going to go," said Autry. "Whether it's up or near brush or near a house or something, think about that."
  
All South King Fire districts are on high alert for July 4th.

The main message: If you use fireworks, just be safe.

Cox Media Group