Family's yard catches fire from Roman candle fireworks shootout between moving cars

Tacoma police said a family’s yard caught fire from people shooting Roman candle fireworks at each other from moving cars Monday night near McKinley Way and E G Street.

The family was able to quickly put out the grass fire that did not spread to their house.

“They’re racing around,” said David Sutton, who lives a few doors down. “As they were coming down I was hearing pops, fireworks going off.”

That same night, three people told KIRO 7 that someone in a car with fireworks apparently took aim a nearby bar with people standing outside.

“You get grass on fire, then you got a house on fire,” said Sutton. “It’s scary, it really is.”

That’s the fear now in this Tacoma neighborhood – that a home will go up in flames. Neighbors shared surveillance video with KIRO 7 from Monday around 12:30 a.m. of a car driving by as the sound of fireworks rattled the area. See that surveillance video below.

Neighbors, who said it’s not unusual to hear fireworks here this close to the Fourth of July Holiday, tell us the problem seems worse this year. Fireworks are illegal in Tacoma.

KIRO 7 has showed you before what could go wrong. A Tacoma veteran's home was destroyed last year in a fire that investigators believe was caused by fireworks.

Tacoma police said it has yearly patrols, that include officers and firefighters, who focus on fireworks-related calls. The city receives hundreds of complaints every year and violators face a $257 fine.

“If you’re driving along the road and someone is sending out fireworks and suddenly they’re in your face, you know, most people are going to panic,” said Sutton. “And now you have an accident.”

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