1,500 fireworks calls spur HPD to arrest 3

Calls about illegal fireworks are skyrocketing this month, surpassing all fireworks-related calls last year.

“In the past couple of weeks, we’ve really been having an increase in illegal explosives,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell at a news conference Tuesday. “People are really, really disturbed by what’s going on.”

So far this month, police received about 1,500 fireworks-related calls — compared with 972 calls in 2014.

There have been no fireworks-related injuries or fires reported this holiday season.

During the press conference officials asked residents to refrain from launching illegal aerial fireworks.

“Let’s leave fireworks to the pros,” Caldwell said. “You’re disturbing your neighbors around the island. … You’re scaring pets and you’re causing a lot of stress.”

Only firecrackers are legal on Oahu and can be set off from 9 p.m. Thursday to 1 a.m. Friday.

Honolulu police Assistant Chief Alan Bluemke is asking for the public’s help to find people setting off illegal fireworks.

“We are getting more calls, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “That means that people are fed up, more people are calling, and people aren’t tolerating it.”

He said police are taking measures to address explosions, such as increasing patrols and taking more time to get information from callers regarding possible leads.

Also, police are conducting “knock-and-burns,” which involve an officer visiting a house where a suspect may be setting off illegal fireworks, Bluemke said. Police talk to the suspect about illegal fireworks, because the neighbor who reported the activity may be reluctant to file a complaint, he said.

So far this year, officers have conducted 52 “knock-and-burns,” cited nine people for fireworks, and arrested three over fireworks-related offenses this year. In one arrest, officers seized 375 pounds of illegal fireworks, Bluemke said.

Depending on the amount, possession of illegal fireworks can be a misdemeanor or a class C felony, punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Possession of a homemade explosive device, which police suspect people are also using to make loud booms, is a class C felony.