WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Efforts to control illegal firework use in the city were deemed a success by Mayor George Brown after a new ordinance was put in place ahead of this year's July 4th celebrations.
"This new ordinance that we put through as a law is not going to stop fireworks, what it is going to do is it is going to make people think twice about setting off fireworks, and we saw that people were setting them off, our police were going from call to call to call," Brown said.
The ordinance raised fines from $100 dollars to $500 dollars for anyone caught in the Diamond City igniting or discharging fireworks within 150 feet of a building.
According to Brown, Police cited 20 people from July 3 to July 5.
At that same time, more than 550 911 calls were made due to noise or firework-related incidents.
"See, really, the whole key here is the safety of it because when you set off fireworks, you really don't know where they are going to go. They can land anywhere," Brown explained.
Firefighters responded to this house on Johnson Street in Wilkes-Barre Tuesday night, where a rogue firework landed on the roof.
The homeowner was able to put out several embers before any damage was done.
Brown says this could've been a lot worse.
Two years ago, a building on Westminster Street quickly caught fire after the use of fireworks nearby, leaving eight people displaced.
"The dangers are out there, so people should not be using them, they are illegal anywhere in the city of Wilkes-Barre," Brown said.
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