Feast of Lanterns Fireworks Show Safety
Sat., July 28, Monterey Fire will have a strong presence in the area before and during the fireworks show for the Feast of Lanterns. The Deputy Fire Marshal will meet with the pyrotechnics company representative and inspect the entire system for launching fireworks to ensure it is compliant with applicable codes. An extra engine will be staffed with 3 personnel near the launch site to provide for safety and fire suppression in the immediate area. The regularly scheduled engine company at the Pacific Grove Station will stage close to the fireworks area, outside of the crowd to ensure mobility, and will monitor for embers and other fallout from the fireworks as well as any illegal fireworks use by citizens (we will work closely with PGPD on enforcement of illegal fireworks use). The engine company from Station 12 (New Monterey) will respond to calls in Pacific Grove as appropriate to reduce the out-of-service time of the Pacific Grove engine so that they can remain in the fireworks area. The Incident Command Vehicle will be present at the event to provide a command post for Fire and Law Enforcement and other agencies. This vehicle has telescoping cameras that will assist in monitoring the fireworks and possible embers from them.
This increased presence will serve to ensure the safety of both people and structures in the area. It is important to communicate to residents the importance of calling 9-1-1 immediately if they observe embers falling onto homes so that we can investigate right away. The same applies to observing illegal fireworks use.