The Bexar County Fire Marshal issued a report on Thursday detailing injuries, damage, and citations related to New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Fireworks are legal in the county, but not within the City of San Antonio, where they are flagrantly used anyway.
Fire Marshal Chris Lopez reported county fire dispatch handled thousands of calls on New Year’s Eve, including 87 fireworks related incidents.
A 20-year-old man was taken to a hospital when a firework struck him in the eye in the 9800 block of Sunset Place.
In another instance, a 26-year-old man suffered injuries to his forehead and hands after a mortar round in a tube exploded as it was placed on the ground.
In another incident, a man suffered second degree burns to a leg after running into a burning fire pit in the 9800 block of South W.W. White Road.
Also, an exterior wall of a home in the 6800 block of Cape Meadow Drive sustained burn damage after used fireworks were disposed of in a trash bin.
Two citations were issued to a firework stand operator on Talley Road for shooting off fireworks just five feet away from the stand. Open alcohol beverages were found inside the same stand.
Two citations were issued to an individual selling fireworks without a permit or a stand at Culebra Road and Westwood Loop.
The fire marshal reported a total of 1,610 emergency or 911 calls came into county fire dispatch between early Dec. 21 and midnight of Jan. 1. Another 1,360 calls came into the fireworks hotline to report problems involving fireworks.
The fire marshal also said it inspected 211 sites related to fireworks vendors.