Fourth of July blazes keep Wichita firefighters busy

A fire noticed in the bed of a passing pickup was among the calls Wichita firefighters responded to late Tuesday into Wednesday as residents celebrated the Fourth of July holiday.

Stuart Bevis, acting fire marshal for the Wichit Fire Department, said fireworks that had been discarded in the bed of a pickup caught fire while the truck was traveling on a Wichita road. A fire crew responded and was able to put the fire out.

Improperly discarded used fireworks were also to blame, Bevis said, for these fire department calls overnight into Wednesday:

▪ In the 1700 block of South Millwood, crews responded to a fire at a shed. The loss was reported to be about $5,000.

▪ In the 100 block of North Mars, crews responded to a fire at a garage. Losses were reported to be about $30,000 to the structure and about $50,000 for its contents.

▪ In the 1100 block of North Crestline, crews responded to a fire in a trash container next to a house. The loss was reported to be around $10,000.

▪ In the 5900 block of East Pepperwood Circle, crews responded to a fire in a trash container next to a house. The loss was reported to be less than $10,000.

For the four days that Sedgwick County had a hotline available for residents with non-emergency Fourth of July fireworks or celebration complaints, 826 calls were received, Bevis said.

The number was up slightly from the 770 calls received on the hotline in 2016, though Bevis said the total was still near the average for the past few years.

Close to 400 of the calls on the hotline this year came between 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 3 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Sedgwick County spokeswoman Kate Flavin.

This story was originally published July 5, 2017 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Fourth of July blazes keep Wichita firefighters busy."