City officials tried to dissuade folks from celebrating the holiday with sky-booms. Yet revelers in Downtown Dallas could see colorful — and illegal — fireworks displays “in all directions,” according to a newsletter from Downtown Dallas Inc.
Dallas Fire-Rescue recently sent a memo to the mayor and City Council summarizing the extent of responses to potential fireworks use.
To be sure, people still flouted the law this year, but it wasn’t all bad news: DFR saw some improvements compared with 2022.
“[T]his year represented a slight decrease in the call volume involving fires in structures,” the memo reads. “While this may be attributed in part to the holiday falling on a Tuesday, credit for this decrease must also be given to our Inspections and Education teams for their efforts in prevention campaigns.”
Far fewer grass fires ignited this July 4 than during 2022’s holiday, which fell amid drought-like conditions. There was an uptick in trash fires, though: 18 versus last year’s 12.
Five illegal fireworks citations were issued this year, according to CBS Texas. Authorities also confiscated a hefty haul of fireworks: nearly 1,310 pounds, compared with some 983 pounds last July 4.
Overall, DFR and the Dallas Police Department fielded fewer service calls this year. But while many Dallasites enjoyed celebrating America through patriotic activities (cough, fireworks), the holiday ended terribly for others.
Fireworks Set Dallas Homes Ablaze
Several structures in Dallas caught fire because of illegal fireworks. Dallas resident Carolette Barnes told FOX 4 that her townhome was razed when fireworks set it ablaze.At around 10 p.m. on July 4, Barnes heard a strange popping noise. She initially figured it was hailing outside but the noise soon grew louder.
When Barnes opened her curtains to peer out of the window, she “saw orange and red” and realized that her home was on fire.
“Looked like a picture of what hell looks like," Barnes told FOX 4.
Barnes said she tried phoning 911 multiple times but couldn’t get through. After making three back-to-back calls — the last of which kept her on hold for more than two-and-a-half minutes — a neighbor was finally able to connect with emergency services.
More than 1,050 calls about illegal fireworks were reportedly made to DPD this July 4.
Fourth of July Shootings
On and around Independence Day, a scourge of mass shootings erupted nationwide. One in Fort Worth claimed the lives of three people and injured at least eight others the night of July 4.Kyrie Barnes (no apparent relation to Carolette Barnes) was mortally wounded on July 2 when he was struck by a stray bullet, according to FOX 4. DPD believes that celebratory gunfire — another illegal offense — was to blame for the 7-year-old Dallas boy’s death.
The bullet had pierced through the wall of Barnes’ second-story apartment while he lay on his mother’s bed, WFAA reported. The young boy died at the hospital several days later.
Nearly two dozen mass shootings occurred nationwide between the evening of Friday, June 30, and 5 a.m. the following Wednesday, according to ABC News. Twenty people were fatally shot and 126 others injured across 17 states and Washington, D.C.
