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Fireworks hurt one man, heat hoists calls in Wilmette
Updated: July 9, 2012 3:54PM
WILMETTE — The miserable heat of the past week is keeping Wilmette Fire Department crews and paramedics busy, Chief Jim Dominik said Thursday. And, while that may not be unusual by itself, the lengthy stretch of hot days is.
So is the one serious Independence Day-related event the department had to deal with; paramedics transported one man to Evanston Hospital July 3 with serious injuries from a fireworks accident.
Dominik said the man was using fireworks on the 1000 block of Michigan Avenue sometime between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.
“It was a significant injury, a burn and extreme laceration when the person was hit by a mortar-type firework … this is unusual for us. We don’t normally get a lot of fireworks injuries,” he said.
Dominik could not release any more information on the injured man.
He said the department has been dealing with increased calls ever since the heat wave struck in the last week of June. With the exception of the fireworks accident, none of them have involved serious injuries.
“To be honest, whenever the weather hits extremes in either direction we get an increase in calls, but it has gone on for multiple days. Fortunately we have three different shifts, each on for 24 hours, and that gives people two days to recuperate before they’re back on duty.”
Dominik said firefighters dealt with a large dumpster fire the night of July 3, at the intersection of 10th Street and Central Avenue. The Wilmette department also sent a fire truck and four-person crew to assist at the scene of the July 4 train derailment in Glenview.
