FW celebrates Independence Day with relatively few fireworks calls

July 4 is the biggest staffing day of the year for the Federal Way Police Department, deputy chief says.

By Alex Bruell • July 6, 2023 2:00 pm

A popular city fireworks show and lack of any major emergencies made for a relatively safe — and successful — Independence Day in Federal Way this year.

Federal Way Police Department (FWPD) Deputy Chief Kyle Sumpter broke down the numbers during the July 5 city council meeting.

“It’s a very busy day,” Sumpter said. “It’s our biggest staffing day (for the police department) of the year.”

Thankfully, the city’s Red, White and Blues festival “couldn’t have gone better” from a safety perspective, and emergency calls related to fireworks were at a 5-year low, Sumpter said. Year-by-year on July 4, Federal Way saw:

• 2019: 110 fireworks calls

• 2020: 146 fireworks calls

• 2021: 189 fireworks calls

• 2022: 82 fireworks calls

• 2023: 79 fireworks calls

Personal-use fireworks are illegal in city limits with “virtually no exceptions,” Sumpter said. Fireworks remain illegal in unincorporated King County and in most city limits in the county.

South King Fire and Rescue (SKFR), which averaged 69 incidents per day last year, saw a rough estimate of 110 incidents on July 4 this year. That count is preliminary and may change.

SKFR Captain and spokesperson Brad Chaney said the department has counted a total of 25 fires from July 2 to July 5, ranging from brush to building fires. While the cause of most was undetermined due to the difficulty of proving how a fire started, “25 fires is a very alarming number for just a few days,” Chaney said.

As of Thursday morning, Chaney said he wasn’t aware of any reports of injuries caused by fireworks, though there were still some reports to be finalized at the department.

Residents with concerns about their neighbors or others who light off fireworks can contact FWPD to ask for an officer to make an informational visit to a neighbor in question by contacting the police department. The best time to do so is three or four days before Independence Day, Sumpter said, and police will make a visit to ask that neighbor to voluntarily comply with fireworks rules.