Tips for a safe Fourth
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July 4 is often one of the busiest days of the year for emergency dispatchers. Here's some advice from authorities to make their lives easier — and your Fourth more fun.
📞 Avoid calling 911 with fireworks noise complaints. "This will delay critical help for people experiencing time-sensitive emergencies like heart attacks, house fires or violent crimes," Minneapolis 911 director Joni Hodne told reporters.
- Unless a fire has started, someone is hurt, or fireworks use is putting people or property at risk, Minneapolis residents can use the city's 311 hotline and app.
- St. Paul police urge residents to use their non-emergency line: (651) 291-1111.
🧨 If it doesn't blow, let it go. People are often injured while attempting to re-light fireworks that don't ignite on the first try, Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner said.
- Aerial and explosive fireworks are illegal in Minnesota.
🚘 Get a sober ride. The Minnesota State Patrol has made 1,500 arrests for driving while intoxicated on the July 4 weekend over the last five years, public information officer Lt. Mike Lee said.
- Lee also urged drivers to resist the temptation to stop on the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis to watch Friday night's fireworks show — which he said prompted a number of 911 calls last year that tied up dispatchers.
🛥️ Get a sober skipper. "If you drink on a boat, it's the same penalty as drinking and driving a vehicle," Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said.
- Witt, whose office's Water Patrol Unit will be out in force this weekend, also urged parents to make sure children wear life jackets.
💧 Stay hydrated. The July 4 forecast calls for high temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s, according to the National Weather Service.