San Francisco is liberal about a lot of things, but fireworks isn't one of them.
SFPD Chief Heather Fong and SFFD Chief Joanne Hayes-White got together today to warn that fireworks are illegal in San Francisco and that shooting them off could cost a fine, a jail term or a body part.
"We take the use and sale of fireworks very seriously," said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. "It's dangerous and it's illegal."
Police Chief Heather Fong said possession, sale or use of fireworks, including so-called "safe and sane" fireworks sold legally in neighboring counties, is illegal and could lead to arrest. And shooting a gun into the air in celebration is illegal, too.
"Whenever a bullet is shot out, that bullet has to come down somewhere," Fong said.
The two chiefs urged Fourth of July revelers to watch professional fireworks displays at Fisherman's Wharf, the Giants ballpark, Jack London Square in Oakland, the Berkeley Marina, the Sausalito waterfront, the Marin County Fairgrounds in San Rafael or the Foster City lagoon.
Each year, Fourth of July fireworks start 2,500 fires nationwide and injure 9,000 people, one-third of them under the age of 15, the chiefs said. Children are especially vulnerable, Hayes-White said.
"Even my son this morning said, 'Mom, can we get fireworks?' " Hayes-White said. "It can be pretty difficult being the fire chief."
The San Francisco Police Department will have extra officers on patrol including plain-clothes officers - all looking for people shooting fireworks.
Original story from the San Francisco Chronicle.
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