Fires reported in garbage cans, bark dust.
With fireworks booming across the county, fire officials and law enforcement were kept busy into Friday morning, responding to noise complaints, fires and injuries.
Four people were hurt in two fireworks incidents Thursday night.
A 12-year-old boy suffered third-degree burns and two others were also injured when a modified firework went off earlier than expected in Vancouver’s Arnada neighborhood Thursday night.
Vancouver firefighters were called at 10:21 p.m. to 2226 I St., where they treated three males, ages 12, 13, and 21, who had been injured by the blast of a “sparkler bomb.” None of the injuries was life-threatening
The 12-year-old boy had burns on his inner thigh and right knee, and also had a sparkler wire embedded in his right biceps muscle, Battalion Chief Chris Lines said.
He was taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, which has a burn center, Lines said. His condition was not available.
The other two suffered lesser injuries, Lines said, and were taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
The 13-year-old boy had cuts on his left ear, left arm and chest, Lines said. When paramedics got there, the bleeding was under control. The 21-year-old man suffered multiple burns and lacerations to the back of his right leg.
Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said that there will be a citation issued in this incident.
“Any time you take any legal fireworks and you alter them, it’s extremely dangerous and extremely unpredictable,” Scarpelli said. A sparkler bomb is made by wrapping several sparklers together with tape and then lighting it on fire.
Every year, she added, the department responds to incidents where young kids are injured in an attempt to make a bigger boom.
A man was also hurt Thursday night in a fireworks accident in Cougar.
Clark County Fire District 13 paramedics were flagged down outside the Cougar Bar & Grill, 16849 Lewis River Rd., by a man with a second-degree blister burn on his leg.
He was reportedly standing too close when a Roman candle went off, Battalion Chief Doug Boyce said.
The man was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
According to dispatch records, fire agencies in Clark County received more than 50 reports of bark-dust fires between 8 a.m. July 4 and 8 a.m. July 5. During the same period, dispatchers took more than 140 calls complaining of fireworks noise.
