KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Fourth of July fireworks in Kalamazoo this year contributed to an outbreak of real fires that caused some property damage and toasted a couple of dumpsters.
Kalamazoo City Manager Malcolm Hankins says public safety was kept busy all evening as they responded to eight separate fires, four of them in homes, one in a business and a sixth in a detached garage.
That’s on top of all the other calls.
“Our public safety folks responded to over 1,100 calls for service,” says Hankins. “My goal is not to have them as active during that period of time.”
He says he has already started discussions with staff on policies they can enact to avoid a repeat next July.
“We do want to have the ability to reduce the amount of damage that occurs during the holiday and so we’re gonna be talking through how we can strategize around that.”
The blazes are being investigated, and they already know that some of them were sparked by fireworks.
Comments