PORTLAND, Oregon — With the Fourth of July a little over a week away, it's important to remember lighting off personal fireworks is illegal in the city of Portland. This is thanks to a City Council ordinance passed in 2022.
"We've had the ordinance for a few years and the first of the ordinance we've had a significantly reduced number of fires that were attributed to fireworks," said Rick Graves with Portland Fire and Rescue (PF&R).
He says what they consider "firework season" kicked off on Monday.
During a press briefing on Monday, Graves shared the importance of fire safety and a look into the previous fireworks seasons. He said in 2023, PF&R responded to 336 fires — and found that 46 of those were directly caused by fireworks. He adds that in 2022, only 10 were reported firework-related out of 224 total fires.
"We had a fire recently that had a triple homicide simply as a result of the inappropriately discarded safe and sane firework,” said Graves. “They're just not safe; they're just not sane."
PF&R will also increase staffing on the fourth to help keep up with the 400-plus call volume 911 dispatchers see on average that holiday. They too, will be cracking down on issuing citations.
“Our unit is prepared to take any necessary action when it comes to the enforcement of this ban,” said PF&R Senior Fire Investigator Jason Andersen. "A simple fire code citation [will consist] of $500-$1,000, which is a civil penalty, or these enforcement actions could be as much as criminal charges."
Anderson adds just the possession of illegal fireworks in Oregon is a Class C misdemeanor — and is punishable with a $2,500 fine and/or six months in jail.
"Every time you bring a firework back into the city of Portland, you are actively choosing to go against what we have established as a safe ban for our community," said Graves.
He adds PF&R is urging the public to leave fireworks to the professionals and to enjoy the waterfront fireworks show instead, as they've seen lives change forever because people didn't listen.
"We want you to enjoy the fourth so you can enjoy the fifth, so no decision that you have made causes you or your neighborhood any danger," said Graves.
Clark County will start selling fireworks on June 28.