'Get to The 5th of July': Orange County Sheriff Shares Holiday Safety Tips

While the Fourth of July holiday is known for celebrations with fireworks displays, great food and summer activities, the holiday is also known among the emergency responder community as a time when emergency calls ramp up.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood spoke with 97.9 The Hill on Friday and reminded residents to be cautious and aware around the holiday this year, especially since it creates a three-day weekend.

Blackwood said his deputies and other emergency responders almost always see a variety of incidents around July 4, often involving drinking alcohol.

“The number of driving accidents, boating accident, burn injuries from grills and fireworks always increase around the Fourth of July holiday — especially when people mix that with consuming alcohol,” he said.

The sheriff encouraged people who are going out and plan on drinking to make a plan. He said that people who get in trouble sometimes tell deputies they did not think of the consequences or logistics of getting home safely without drunk driving.

“So, if you end up at a cookout and you haven’t got a plan to get away from it, that’s something you’ve got to think about,” said Blackwood. “We do have Uber, we do have a lot of ways to get around.

“I mean, I’ll come and get you,” he added. “I’d rather do it that way then see you have to end up in an accident or in the hospital.”

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood (right) joined 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck to talk about safety around the July 4th holiday.

While Blackwood did encourage people to think ahead if taking any trips for Fourth of July, he also said his office is expecting for people to stay a little more local than normal.

“With the gas prices like they are, we expect to see people stay here or at least do their holiday things close by,” said the sheriff.

What does the Orange County Sheriff’s Office get the most calls about around the holiday? Blackwood said it’s far and away concerns about fireworks. He said they have plenty of calls from neighbors with noise complaints or reports of escaped pets because of fireworks displays.

But Blackwood also said emergency services frequently get calls about severe burns or injuries from people mishandling the explosives or not taking the right safety precautions.

“I love them, I think they’re beautiful,” the sheriff said of fireworks, “and I think it’s a thing we need to leave the professionals to do. If you’re going to venture out and do it yourself, you really have got to take care of the folks around you and take care of yourself too.”

Blackwood reminded residents to wear eye protection while handling fireworks that shoot off from the ground and to make sure others aren’t standing nearby when a firework is going off.

“We think about all those things that could go wrong and we try to plan ahead for them, and we ask that people do that too,” he said of the Fourth of July holiday. “We don’t come here every year to talk about this because we think people don’t know what to do: we do it because we want them to remember those things they need to do.

“Get to the 5th of July,” said the sheriff in closing.

Photo by Tairon Fernandez.

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‘Get to The 5th of July’: Orange County Sheriff Shares Holiday Safety Tips

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