Fresno firefighters gear up for busy 4th of July weekend

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Fire crews successful Fresno are already responding to aggregate fires caused by fireworks. The Fresno Fire Department said the Fourth of July is the busiest time of the twelvemonth - truthful overmuch truthful that they’re relying connected further resources and radical to spot in.

“If you've been successful Fresno for the Fourth of July, you cognize however prolific the usage of amerciable fireworks are,” Deputy Fire Marshall for the Fresno Fire Department Jay Tracy said.

Fresno Fire and Cal Fire are gearing up for a engaged Fourth of July weekend. 

“Last twelvemonth alone, we saw astir treble our mean telephone volume. Significant summation successful fires from everything from vegetation fires to operation fires,” Josh Sellers, with the Fresno Fire Department, said.

Fresno Fire said that, due to the fact that of the summation successful fires, much firefighters and firetrucks are moving this weekend.

“We're going to unit an further 3 occurrence apparatus. One of those being a four-wheel thrust conveyance that tin spell off-road into writer fields. We besides person immoderate individuals that volition beryllium retired flying drones. So those drones volition beryllium up identifying locations wherever the amerciable fireworks are being used,” Sellers said.

For Cal Fire, Independence Day is concern arsenic usual. 

“We're not doing thing antithetic this twelvemonth oregon successful the past year. We're afloat staffed and we're afloat prepared for what the Fourth brings us,” Cal Fire Fire Captain Gary Couch said.

Couch says that betwixt Cal Fire and Fresno County Fire, 29 occurrence engines are acceptable for action.

“We don't person excessively galore days extracurricular of the clip earlier Fourth of July, a small spot aft [the] Fourth of July, New Year, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day erstwhile radical acceptable fireworks,” Couch said.

However, Fresno Fire besides relies connected residents' help. Through the caller FresGo app, anyone tin study amerciable fireworks. 

“As individuals study the usage of amerciable fireworks, it volition get loaded into a real-time representation that'll amusement dispatchers arsenic good arsenic the archetypal responders retired successful the tract wherever the blistery spots are,” Sellers said.

Before the holiday, enactment continued to instrumentality amerciable fireworks disconnected the streets. Thursday, Fresno Fire announced its seventh amerciable firework bust successful the past week.

“Good ending for america and successful our attempts to effort to marque the streets conscionable a small spot safer, I inactive deliberation we're going to spot astir 6 cardinal of these things spell disconnected time night,” Tracy said

Fresno's nighttime entity mightiness person a fewer 100 less fireworks, but Tracy said he’s acrophobic Fresno Fire mightiness not respond to each telephone Friday night.

“Our guys are retired determination warring occurrence each night. But that does, it takes distant from america coming and helping a loved one. And I don't mean to dependable cliche, but it's similar it could mean that betwixt beingness and death,” Tracy said.

Fresno Fire said that, on with utilizing the FresGO app, folks are encouraged to telephone 311, not 911, to study amerciable fireworks.