OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – “It was just intense,” said Perla Escamilla who lives next door. “My brother looked outside, and he just saw like yellow and red flames… He woke all of us up and got us out of the house as soon as we saw that their corner of the garage was on fire.”
The right side of her family’s next door neighbor’s garage was up in flames. This happened just before 1 a.m. Monday in a neighborhood near I-35 and I-240.
“We did talk to the owners,” said Jerod Shook, with OKCFD. “They said that they were shooting fireworks earlier and had discarded some of that material in the trash can, which is the area where the fire started.”
This unfortunately turned out to be a costly mistake. The Oklahoma City Fire Chief estimates the damages to be about $45,000.
Escamilla’s house was also damaged.
Oklahoma City Fire Captain Scott Douglas said this is a prime example of why it’s not legal to buy, sell or possess fireworks within city limits.
“There’s just no good way. There’s just no safe way to handle consumer grade fireworks,” said Douglas. “Leave the popping of the fireworks up to the professionals. There’s plenty of public displays all across the Oklahoma City area. So, just please visit one of these.”
He added if you want to report someone lighting fireworks, don’t call 911. He says last year, an influx of calls jammed their 911 communication center. He said to only call 911 for emergencies.
To report fireworks:
- Call: Fireworks Hotline – (405) 297-2222 between June 30 – July 6 (an address is required to report a violation)
- Online: okc.gov/action
- Email: action.center@okc.gov
- City’s mobile app: OKC Connect
- Text: (405) 252-1053
No injuries were reported in Monday morning’s fire.
