Cicero (WSYR-TV) - With July 4 right around the corner, more and more neighborhoods are seeing fireworks.
Police are often inundated with complaints about fireworks in June and July. Although they generally can’t make illegal fireworks a top priority, police say residents should stay vigilant.
"Some people spend a lot of money on these fireworks. They go down to Pennsylvania, purchase them and they're high grade. People need to understand they're also very dangerous. There is no quality control in the manufacturing of those,” said Cicero Police Chief Joseph Snell. “We - knock on wood - have not had a lot of injuries over the years, but there have been some."
Although they’re illegal to possess, most departments lack the manpower to pursue each fireworks complaint.
"Our biggest concern, and we hear it from residents, is that they're more concerned about the bottle rockets, things that are going to land on a roof and potentially start fires. Although that's rare, it has happened,” Snell said.
Snell said that in Cicero, officers respond when a resident makes a 911 call. They will often talk to the people give them a warning. Then, if it happens again, they will ticket the person launching fireworks and take their items.
