Fireworks

     It's not what Maroun Faissal expected to do this weekend.      But survival training exercises are part of his job.      "We're don't run calls all twenty-four hours so in our down time we practice," says Maroun Faissal.      And Station 34 has had a lot of down time this Forth of July.      "It's not going to be near as busy as it has been," says David Matthew.      Typically, emergency calls on Independence Day keep crews out all day.      Sunday, boots and trucks are ready with no where to go.      Sedgwick County Fire Departments were expecting a lot of calls this weekend with new fireworks laws and the anticipation of warmer weather but once they saw the forecast any additional crews they were going to bring in were sent home.

Between Wichita's hospitals, at least forty people have been treated for accidents related to fireworks. The calls are still coming in to St. Francis, where Rick Anderson is being readied to go home. "Second degree burns from the tips to the knuckles," he explained about the bandages on his right hand. It happened on the Fourth of July, when he and others were trying to avoid an accident. A teen had put together several fireworks, but the adults decided to dismantle it to be safe.

"The rain played some interesting tricks on us yesterday," says Kyle Lindsted. Trickier still, the wet gravel and puddles Kyle Lindsted and his crew have to work around Monday as they pack up. Fortunately, the number of boxes is few. "We worked up a sweat on the register last night, we had so many people here at certain points," says Lindsted. Kyle tells us when the rain stopped the tent was full but when there was a downpour the tent was empty again and he suspects when it was raining they lost about a thousand dollars an hour in sales.

All proceeds from the firework tent at 21st and Webb go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. "He just finished a 2 year battle with cancer and we wanted a way to raise money," said Karen Brown. Five-year old Gentry Brown is a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed at just three years old; now his parents want to give back. "Because they've helped out quite a bit," said Gentry's father Jerry Brown. But Mother Nature had other plans. A severe thunderstorm rolled in Sunday evening, a critical time for sales.

Continued hot and dry conditions prompt Dodge City officials to ban fireworks on the Fourth of July for the second year in a row. The decision on banning fireworks inside Dodge City came during a city commission meeting Monday night. Fire officials in Dodge City say the continued hot, dry weather have made the fire danger too high. Commissioners also decided to ban the community fireworks show scheduled for 10:00 p.m. On July 4. When weather improves and the contractor is available, the city will re-schedule the fireworks display.

Fireworks could be to blame for a wheat field fire in northern Sedgwick County Monday afternoon. The fire started in the 13000 block of East 69th St. North. Fire crews say they found evidence of fireworks close to the field. An arson investigator is looking into whether fireworks were the cause. "We have witnesses who said they saw people lighting fireworks in this area but none that saw the fire start," explains Division Chief Eddie Fajardo. The landowner says he's lucky he has already harvested his wheat, but relies on the stubble to retain moisture and keep the field from eroding.

A woman uses fireworks in an argument with her boyfriend. It happened in their home Saturday night in the 1600 block of North Hydraulic. The couple was arguing when the woman got out some fireworks, lit them and threw them on her 52-year-old boyfriend. A bed caught on fire, but was extinguished quickly. No one was hurt. The woman, 45, was arrested for aggravated arson.

A Fourth of July tradition won't happen this year in Garden City and Finney County. While the city and county usually issue a waiver allowing fireworks between July 3rd and July 5th, the Garden City Police Department says that won't happen this year. Because of extreme drought conditions and the danger of grass fires, Garden City Police say fireworks will be banned this year. The police department says officers will be out enforcing the ban and anybody caught shooting off fireworks can face a $120 fine.

Should fireworks be banned in Hutchinson? That's what some city leaders are considering, after fireworks caused dozens of fires and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage over the July 4th holiday. A home in Hutchinson was destroyed early Thursday, when fireworks debris caught the shake shingle roof on fire. "If just a little firework can do this, it's not worth it," said neighbor Aaliah Hernandez. The fire was one of four structure fires caused by fireworks in Hutchinson over the holiday.

Residents could learn whether fireworks will be allowed in the City of Hays next Independence Day. City Manager Toby Dougherty presented two main options to the Hays City Commission Thursday afternoon during its work session. Each option detailed modifications to the current fireworks ordinance. The first option would be to ban the sale of use of fireworks. The second option would be to allow city commissioners to decide whether to ban fireworks at the last regular commission meeting in June.