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Those Capitol Hill booms you heard were (probably) 4th of July fireworks

Or maybe they were a celebration of Canada Day. Anyhow, we’ve entered the week when CHS will hear many reports of loud reports as amateur pyrotechnicians rattle the windows of First Hill, Capitol Hill and beyond.


Sunday’s *PRETTY DAMN* loud explosions were reportedly heard around the central Hill near Cal Anderson — and we’ve been told of a few visual accounts of smoke closer to First Hill.

We’re not sure who in that area is so consistently well-armed but this isn’t the first fireworks-related holiday when significant explosions have been reported in the area near First Hill Park.

Amateur explosives beside, we’ll have more on viewing the pro action soon. In the meantime, if you’re the gunpowder fiend, maybe start a Twitter account to give everybody a warning before the next blasting session.

And, yes, those explosives are illegal. SPD says don’t call them to report fireworks, however.

The fourth of July is a busy time for the Seattle Police Department and its 911 call center. Along with the reports of injuries and fires that accompany the fourth of July festivities every year, 911 call centers are also typically slammed with calls about fireworks-related noise.

While the Seattle Police Department values every call from neighbors about concerns in their communities, the Fourth has typically been a loud and busy day for police and firefighters over the last 236 years, and frequent fireworks noise complaints make it more difficult for 911 operators, police, and fire officials to respond to life-threatening emergencies across the city.

So, DO CALL 911: to report fires, injuries, crimes, or any other life-threatening incidents.

DO NOT CALL 911: to complain about noise from fireworks, or the weather.

The Seattle Police Department would also like to remind you that the possession, manufacture, storage, sale, and use of fireworks is prohibited in Seattle, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. 
If you do have concerns about fireworks in your neighborhood, but nothing has been damaged and no one has been injured, you can still call the Seattle Police non-emergency number at (206) 625-5011.

Have a safe Fourth of July!

 

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chimsquared
11 years ago

they get calls about the weather?

songstorm
11 years ago

Given that someone (in another state that I can’t remember) called 911 because he got the wrong drive-thru order, it does not surprise me that people call about the weather.

MasterBloop
11 years ago

I’m not jumpy but the first one scared the hell out of me.

calhoun
11 years ago

It seems that the police make absolutely no effort to enforce the Seattle fireworks ban…even to the point of asking citizens NOT to report this crime. I realize that abuse of the law is pervasive, but does that mean it shouldn’t be enforced?

Holly
11 years ago

That didn’t sound like any firework I have ever heard. The first one sounded more like a transformer blow-up (obviously, it wasn’t—-I use that example by way of comparison). What in the hell kind of fireworks are people getting these days, oil barrels?

SeattleSeven
SeattleSeven
11 years ago

Are you crazy!? Sending police after people with improvised explosive devices would leave no officers available to arrest pot smokers and ticket jay walkers.