Borderland emergency response agencies report fewer calls this Fourth of July

Some first responders in El Paso and surrounding areas are reporting a reduction in the amount of emergency calls they received and responded to on Thursday for the Fourth of July celebrations. The El Paso Fire Department reports it received 16 total fire calls between 8:31 PM Thursday evening through 5:40 AM Friday morning, consisting of 7 brush fires, 8 dumpster fires, and a room fire at a house in northeast El Paso. According to El Paso Fire Department spokesperson Enrique Dueñas, that's down from 30 to 40 in previous years, with no injuries reported from fireworks so far.

"Usually every [July 4th] night we have 2 to 3 people, mostly younger people, children, sometimes they get injured," Dueñas said. "Maybe a hand, something like that. And usually that's [number of responses] what happened. So this year we're glad to report so far, we have not had any reports of such a thing [fireworks injuries] happening."

There were also no citations for use of fireworks in El Paso on July 4th. As ABC-7 has reported, all fireworks are banned in the city limits. So while that use can be cited, fire marshals have to catch the person in the act.

"But if they don't find anyone to cite, they can't cite them," Dueñas said. "And usually this happens really quick. So this is also something to keep in mind. We do try to catch somebody in the act, but apparently last night we didn't have any luck on that end."

Out in the area of far east El Paso County commonly known as Red Sands, the volunteer rescue organization the Texas Rescue Patrol reports they responded to 11 calls for fights, medical issues and brush fires. That's also down from 25 last year, and significantly down from the expected 30 to 35 such incidents in years past. About 6 to 8 thousand people are estimated to have come out to the Red Sands area for July 4th, which leads to challenges for mounting an emergency response.

"Unfortunately, when you mix an unregulated area, unmanaged area with individuals that are young and are consuming alcoholic beverages," said Jamil Moutran, Chief of the Texas Rescue Patrol, "fights ensue and we end up getting major incidents like what we had last night."

Moutran's organization did assist with response to a shooting in the area and a following criminal investigation by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office on Thursday. Red sands is popular with both off-roading enthusiasts and people looking for a place to party. Moutran credits greater coordination between emergency agencies and law enforcement for an overall decrease in incidents in the last two years.

"And so we've seen a decrease in the amount of call volume, because last year and this year, we've had the highest level of a law enforcement presence that we've had in recent years," Moutran said. "And that's all contributed to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office just doing a phenomenal job."

ABC-7 did reach out to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office for any statistics on the amount of calls it received on July 4th. A spokesperson was not able to provide that information by the end of the day Friday.

ABC-7 also contacted the El Paso Police Department Friday. According to spokesperson Sgt. Robert Gomez, the El Paso Police Department does not respond to calls of fireworks within city limits due to the demands of other higher-priority emergency situations. The department did not have crime or arrest numbers available due to low office staffing for the holiday.

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