Fourth of July sees man lose finger and police face unruly crowd

A man had one one of his fingers blown off when an illegal firework exploded in his hand Tuesday evening.

Modesto officials say that was among the calls police officers and firefighters handled during a busy Fourth of July, including illegal fireworks setting the roofs of two homes on fire and sparking other fires.

This also was the first holiday for a new Modesto ordinance that lets officers cite renters or homeowners who live in a home where someone else uses or possesses illegal fireworks. Officers assigned to a special illegal fireworks patrol issued two of the $1,000 administrative citations Tuesday.

One citation drew anger, profanity and jeers from about two dozen people gathered in front of a Bay Meadows Drive home, near Carver Road and Briggsmore Avenue. Homeowner Rome Reese swore at Sgt. Pat Kimes as he issued the citation and refused to accept it. “You didn’t see me do anything,” said Reese, who turned 41 on the Fourth. “F--- you! F--- you!” Others also swore at the police, told them to leave and said police were doing this because the people at the gathering were black.

Kimes and his partner, Sgt. Mike Hammond, spotted the illegal fireworks when they were about 75 yards down the block issuing a citation to someone else and a series of fireworks in front of Reese’s home exploded in the air. Kimes said he could see people from the lawn walk into the street and set off the fireworks. And as the sergeants and a Bee reporter and photographer arrived at Reese’s home, a woman at the gathering was sweeping up the fireworks debris. Kimes said he also found illegal fireworks in the front yard.

Reese on Wednesday said he would address the citation and trusted the process to resolve the matter. He declined to say more.

Kimes said firefighters responded later that evening to the same home because someone had set the debris on fire. Officers were summoned to keep the peace when firefighters encountered a drunk and unruly crowd, according to the police watch commander. No arrests were made.

The fireworks patrol consisted of six officers working in pairs and driving unmarked cars. Kimes said they issued 16 of the $1,000 administrative citations, including the two to people who controlled the home but did not use or possess the fireworks. The other citations were for people suspected of using or possessing the fireworks. Kimes said the 16 citations does not include those issued by patrol officers. Those numbers were not available Wednesday.

Modesto Fire Department Capt. Tim Graf said firefighters responded to nearly 80 medical and fire calls from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. One of the medical calls included a man whose finger was blown off by an illegal firework on Colorado Avenue in west Modesto.

Graf said the man had been holding the firework when it exploded in his hand, severing his right index finger. The finger was collected, and the man was transported to a Modesto hospital where he was expected to undergo surgery. The Fire Department did not have additional information Wednesday.

Graf said illegal fireworks were to blame for two roof fires. The first occurred at a home on Shaker Heights Way in south Modesto and the other on Bristlecone Way in west Modesto.

The roof on Bristlecone had been smoldering for several hours, and the residents woke up around 6 a.m. to find smoke in their home, Graf said. He said the fire caused about $15,000 in damage because firefighters had to remove part of the roof to ensure the fire had not spread to the rafters and joists.

Modesto fire Battalion Chief Randy Anderson said from 5 p.m. Tuesday to 2 a.m. Wednesday firefighters from Modesto, Ceres and the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District responded to 54 fire-related calls, with the majority of them related to fireworks. He said firefighters might respond to about half as many calls during a typical Tuesday night in July.

“It was a busy Fourth,” he said. “We came out fortunate because we did not lose any homes as we have in the past. So I’m thankful for that.”

This story was originally published July 5, 2017 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Fourth of July sees man lose finger and police face unruly crowd."