Fireworks suspected in 3 Kansas City house fires

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Fourth of July fun turned dangerous in Kansas City.

Firefighters believe fireworks are likely responsible for starting fires that damaged three homes on Thursday. Two of the houses are located in the Northland. The fire department said the fires did not cause a lot of damage, but easily could have.

The department said people tossed debris from fireworks in trashcans. The trashcans were then wheeled into garages.

The debris started to smolder and ignited fires. Firefighters responded and quickly put out the flames.

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Firefighters also responded to a number of fires in dumpsters overnight. They believe the same thing likely happened. People tossed fireworks debris as it smoldered.

The fire department suggests homeowners use a 5-gallon bucket with water and toss the remains from fireworks into the water before the trashcan.

Any trashcan containing debris from fireworks should stay outside instead of inside a garage.

While the fire department did respond to a number of fires on the Fourth of July, rain actually helped lower the number of overall fires.

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The Kansas City Fire Department said it responded to fewer fires involving grass and trees this year because of the rain.

The Kansas City metro isn’t as dry as past years. That means grass and other plants don’t catch fire as easily when fireworks and sparks hit them.

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