‘Almost a war zone.’ Suburban fire chiefs brace for Fourth of July in Pierce County
It’s a day that firefighters with Central Pierce Fire and Rescue have to mentally gear up for, according to deputy chief Russ Karns. The job is always unpredictable, and you never know what you might encounter, but Karns says mayhem on the Fourth of July is essentially a given — particularly if the sun is out, and has been out.
“We have had years where we’ve had good weather and drought ... where it can be — for lack of a better term — almost a war zone in some of these communities,” Karns said, recalling previous Fourth of July shifts spent patrolling the areas of Puyallup, South Hill, Midland, Parkland and Spanaway, and some of the dangerously dumb things he’s encountered.
This year, that annual suburban and rural Pierce County reality brings with it a heightened sense of danger. After a streak of warm, dry weather — punctuated by the intense heat wave the region recently endured — Karns said he’s “extremely concerned” by what might happen when Pierce County residents settle in to celebrate independence, mixing pyrotechnics with sweet freedom.
Karns isn’t alone. Given the heightened fire risk, he’s “encouraging” people to forego the use of personal fireworks this year in favor of safer community events, he told The News Tribune. His fire command counterparts throughout the county recently released a PSA video doing the same.
So will it work? Karnes is hopeful, but not holding his breath.
For many in the communities he serves, fireworks and the Fourth of July are inseparable, he acknowledged. There’s a Wild West element to life in this area that’s part of the appeal for some residents, and Karns knows warnings from fire chiefs like himself require a “political dance” that often falls on defiant ears.
It’s one reason why the County Council’s recent futile attempt to enact an emergency ban on fireworks in unincorporated Pierce County wasn’t particularly surprising. As The News Tribune’s Josephine Peterson reported, the failed vote fell along party lines. More than that, it once again illustrated Pierce County’s stark divide between urban and suburban-slash-rural.
Puyallup Republican Hans Zeiger was one of the “no” votes, indicating that he believes most unincorporated residents will use good judgment, and those who won’t likely wouldn’t be bothered by an emergency ban anyway. His Republican colleague from Eatonville, Amy Cruver, said she can see both sides of the issue, but she added that many of her constituents are tired of the government acting as “morality police.”
As head-scratching as it might be to some city dwellers, all of this is likely true. And it leaves fire chiefs like Karns stuck precariously in the middle, trying to enforce the rules that do exist while hoping for the best.
“We have a lot of folks who enjoy and exercise their right to light off fireworks,” Karns said, diplomatically. “We would love to see folks go out and enjoy those community events and those community fireworks displays and not light off their own fireworks. However, it is still their right to do so, and if they do choose to do so, we would implore that they please use the utmost caution.”
Over a firefighting career that dates back to his days as a volunteer in the late 1980s, Karns said he’s seen a little bit of everything on the Fourth. He described a spectrum of negligence that ranges from the seemingly mundane — like lighting off fireworks without a hose or bucket of water nearby — to the extreme, like the proliferation of what he describes as homemade explosive devices. All of these mistakes can have a devastating toll, he said.
“I’ve seen individuals lose the use of their limbs, or lose digits,” Karns said. “I’ve seen houses that have been burned, or heavily damaged, and outbuildings lost.”
“I’ve seen children that have been injured,” he continued. “That’s one of the more frustrating things, when you see a child injured really through no fault of their own.”
In particular, Karns warned people against the temptation to alter fireworks at home, or use them in unintended ways. Some of the worst cases he’s seen — if not the stupidest— have involved things like “sparkler bombs” and Roman candles used as weapons, he said. In recent days, Karns said an explosive that was essentially a small bomb required the full response from Puyallup police specialists.
All of it adds to the anxiety local firefighters are feeling this time of year, Karns said. The hot weather and unusually dry vegetation only makes matters worse.
“Our crews could have an extremely busy night,” Karns said. “We really hope we don’t see (a significant increase in fire-related calls) this year, but the condition is kind of primed for us to see those types of events if we’re not careful.”
Like Karns, Todd Wernet will also have a lot of ground to cover this Fourth of July. As the South Pierce Fire and Rescue chief for the last 14 months, he’s relatively new to his position, but not to the fire and serious injury threats posed by the holiday.
Wernet grew up in the firefighting business, and he knows this area well, he said. South Pierce Fire and Rescue operates eight stations that protect 138 square miles — from Roy and McKenna to Graham, and all the way to Eatonville. Given the recent weather and lack of rainfall, he’s bracing for the potential of a long holiday weekend.
“A lot of people out here in South Pierce are very independent, and they enjoy their fireworks,” Wernet said. “I totally understand that, but it doesn’t make it any less dangerous, especially in a season like this with all this extreme weather that we’re having.”
Like every year, Wernet is recommending people leave fireworks to the professionals. He also knows not everyone will — no matter where they live — and some of those decisions will result in injuries and destruction. During his time working as a firefighter in Seattle, he once watched a pier at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration burn over the holiday.
Oftentimes, Wernet said, it’s those who think they’re doing everything right who end up with the biggest regrets.
“Everybody thinks they’re going to do it safely and they’re going to do it correctly,” Wernet said. “And most people do, but it only takes one stray bottle rocket … to start a large, large fire.”
This story was originally published July 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
