The Wichita Fire Department has released preliminary numbers on the incidents and injuries that happened during the July 4th fireworks season.

Battalion Chief Jose Ocadiz revealed the numbers during Mayor Brandon Whipple’s weekly news conference Thursday at City Hall.   He said the department is still putting together final numbers, but crews responded to five fire reports during the period from June 27th to July 5th.  He said four of the fires involved a detached garage, a shed or a home, and there was one fire at the Amidon bridge construction site in north Wichita that involved minor damage.   The total damage from the five incidents was $60,000.   There were six structural fires last year.

Ocadiz said there were 39 injuries reported from area medical facilities related to fireworks, involving people ages nine months to 59 years.  The leading cause of injuries was mortars and artillery shells, along with smoke bombs and other fireworks.

Enforcement teams composed of police officers and firefighters were patrolling the city, and they issued five citations.

The non-emergency hotline that was set up by Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received 1,049 calls during the holiday period, and 736 calls were related to fireworks complaints, compared to 791 last year.   That covered all of the jurisdictions served by 911 and not just the city of Wichita.   Ocadiz said the largest number of complaints came in on July 5th, when fireworks were no longer supposed to be in use.

Ocadiz said final numbers will be compiled and input will be gathered from the community, and a report will be presented later to the Wichita City Council to see if any changes need to be made in fireworks ordinances.  Changes were made this year to allow aerial fireworks from July 1st through July 4th, although they could not be sold within the city limits.