Phoenix to crack down on illegal fireworks during New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve fireworks crackdown in Phoenix

While some fireworks are temporarily legal in Arizona for New Year's Eve festivities, many are not, and the City of Phoenix will be on patrol on Dec. 31 to crack down on them. Fire officials are also reminding the public about Shannon's Law. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz reports.

PHOENIX - While some fireworks are temporarily legal for New Year’s Eve festivities, many are not, and the City of Phoenix will be on patrol on New Year's Eve to crack down on them.

"Lots of fireworks, lots of excitement. Lots of parties," said Phoenix Fire Department Captain DJ Lee, referring to the temporarily-legal use of fireworks.

Cpt. Lee, however, says that comes with a lot of risks.

"Kind of think of like a small stick of dynamite going off, it could blow your hand off, your arm off," Lee said. "Do a lot of serious damage. It could also give you second, you know, second and third degree burns on places you don't want."

Local perspective:

He says the first step in keeping yourself safe is to make sure the fireworks you are using are legal.

"Anything that shoots up in the air and explodes or explodes on the ground, those are considered illegal," Cpt. Lee said. "Legal ones would be like smoke bar smoke things, sparklers, spinners like fountains."

Phoenix city leaders have organized a task force dedicated to cracking down on illegal fireworks, which will be out and about this week.

"They'll go out and enforce these rules where, you could, potentially get a fine up to $1,000 for shooting illegal fireworks," Cpt. Lee said.

But even the legal ones require heavy caution and supervision.

"We always say soak them in a bucket of water or a trash can of water overnight to make sure they get down those sparklers," Cpt. Lee said. "The sticks that kids like to wave around that we did as kids. Those things get up to 2,000 degrees."

Cpt. Lee also wants to remind everyone that Shannon’s Law, a law prohibiting celebratory gunfire into the air, is in full effect.

"The last thing you need to do, shoot your gun over there and needlessly kill someone that is nowhere near you," Cpt. Lee said.

What you can do:

If you are planning to use fireworks tomorrow, make sure you’re keeping any children clear of the area. It’s also important to make sure your pets are locked inside somewhere where they can’t escape.