July 13, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Fire Inspectors Order Mass Amount of Fireworks From Apartment - Summons Issued

Shreveport fire inspectors spent the morning at the Towers Apartments, 5638 South Lakeshore Drive, after receiving a report that someone was storing large quantities of fireworks in an apartment at the complex. When Fire Inspector Mike Hood showed up to check apartment number 631, he found two walls of an 11x14 dining room lined four foot high with a various assortment of Class "C" fireworks or those normally sold to the general public. Potentially averting a disaster, department officials immediately ordered the mass amount of combustibles removed, citing Section 1.5, Paragraph a. of the City Fire Prevention Code: Whenever any of the members of the Fire Department or Bureau of Fire Prevention shall find in any building dangerous or hazardous conditions or materials as follows, he or she shall order the materials removed or remedied including dangerous or unlawful amounts of combustible or explosive or otherwise hazardous material.

Apartment occupant Charlene Jimison told department officials that the fireworks were her husbands, who owned and operated Just Fireworks on Midway Avenue and Lakeshore Drive, and that she did not know that the housing of them was unlawful. Initially fire officials issued a 3:00 p.m. deadline for the removal of the fireworks but Jimison, after already having placed an elevator full with the products, refused to remove any more. As fire inspectors began to seize the fireworks a family member volunteered to remove the fireworks and officials allowed him to begin loading the boxes into an awaiting van. An additional trailer was also needed to completely remove all of the fireworks. They will be taken to a storage facility outside of the city.

Jimison was issued a summons by the Fire Prevention Inspection Division for the following: Improper Storage of Fireworks, Improper Storage of Combustible Materials, both city ordinances, and Failure to Comply with a Fire Marshall’s Orders, a state statute. According to Prevention Bureau Assistant Chief Terry Lewis the potential for a possible catastrophe was avoided by the division’s actions. "The fire inspection branch of the fire department is the behind the scenes division mitigating and minimizing the inherent fire dangers that are ever present in our community. Today is just one example of the work we do every day to insure the safety of citizens’ life and property. There is little doubt that had the fireworks ignited, the lone apartment, and building, would have sustained heavy fire damage. Additionally, the main purpose of the removal was to protect the residence, most of who had no knowledge that they were living next to a potential deadly hazard. One unidentified man moving his son from out of town and into the building said that he was glad to see the fireworks being removed and glad that the fire department was "on top of things" in this city. It is important to note that The Towers’ apartment management cooperated fully with fire officials and were very helpful concerning this matter. ###