KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Each year, the Fourth of July lights up the sky — and the call volume at Kansas City-area fire departments.
In Kansas City, Missouri, crews responded to multiple fires and at least nine injuries tied to fireworks. KCFD Battalion Chief Riley Nolan said six of those hurt were minors.
“We did respond to multiple fires, multiple injuries throughout the entire weekend. It was a busy weekend for us," Nolan said.
Hospitals throughout the metro stayed busy, too. Children’s Mercy treated seven children for firework injuries, University of Kansas hospitals saw 42 patients (as of 6 p.m. Sunday), and Saint Luke’s hospitals treated 12.
Before fireworks season even began, two children from Kansas City, Kansas, were seriously hurt.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department confirmed last week a 12-year-old is still being treated. The department continues to work to determine what kind of fireworks injured the children and if the materials were legal.
"The problem with that device that they had is gone because it exploded, so we have no way of knowing what it was,” said KCKFD Asst. Chief Bryan Hendin. “Once you start modifying something, you're taking a huge risk at not knowing what's going to happen.”
The final fire and injury reports will be released on Monday, but KCFD believes this year’s injuries were in line with what the department typically sees.
"I think it was probably a little bit less than what I was expecting, but happy that that's the case. I mean, we obviously don't want anybody injured,” Nolan said.
Nolan expects Sunday night to round out the weekend calmly, as fireworks are illegal to purchase in KCMO and stands in KCK shut down Friday.
“Even last night, we saw it die down a lot,” Nolan said of Saturday night. “Kind of winding back down to a normal weekend.”
—
KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas. Share your story idea with Olivia.
