City official wants residents to celebrate Independence Day responsibly

Tomorrow night, the skies in the Imperial Valley will be filled with fireworks. Mayor of Brawley George Nava hopes residents celebrate this Fourth of July responsibly.

Nava said one way to do that is to only use safe and sane fireworks that don’t fly into the sky.

“We have had over the past several years, the use of illegal fireworks. And we want to prevent those uses this year. So if you do see it we want you to report it to the Brawley Police Department. You know they are dangerous and they can cause fires,” said George Nava, Brawley Mayor.

First responders said residents need to take precautions when using fireworks. Grace Carpio, a Brawley firefighter, said, “Have certain things like a hose ready. A water-line ready. A bucket of water where they can dispose of fireworks properly. A first aid kit if anything in case something does happen like small burns.”

One fireworks vendor always encourage his customers to be safe. Joe Garcia, Safe and Sane Fireworks vendor said, “And I always recommend to people, do it the safe way. Watch your kids and everything. I know that sometimes they try and throw ’em at people. That’s unsafe you know. If you use it the right way you’ll be safe. And it’s important. That way we can continue the tradition.”

It’s important that residents be responsible to avoid any chances of starting fires and people getting hurt.

“We just want to make sure people celebrate responsibly. [They] are safe and at the end of the day, they get to go to bed without any issues and wake up the next day and go to work, ” said Brawley Mayor George Nava.