Zero citations were issued in Corpus Christi for firework violations this New Year’s Eve, a report obtained by KRIS 6 News shows.
Many viewers asked exactly how many citations were issued during the New Year period after the fire department sent out a warning just days before the holiday about hefty fines.
The warning said that illegal discharging of fireworks in the city limits will come with a hefty fine and the police and fire departments would work together to enforce the ordinance. Those warnings were largely ignored by the public, as several videos show, and no fines were issued.
Related: Illegal use of fireworks in city could cost you big
Just after the holiday, Mayor Joe McComb said the city firework ordinance may need to be revisited after numerous complaints.
“We want safety to be our number one priority – both for human safety and property safety,” McComb said. “But I think it’d at least be worth a look and see what the police chief and the fire chief have to say about it.”
The mayor has acknowledged the challenge for police and fire crews to cover the area for fireworks violations.
“You can’t gear up manpower-wise for one or two days a year to cover every site,” McComb explained. “If you’ve got a law on the books that you can’t enforce, that creates a problem because it creates some frustration.”
The report also listed fireworks violations numbers from 2017 and 2018. In 2017, 2 firework violation citations were issued in January, with 11 in July. In 2018, the number dropped to 1 in January and zero in July.
