Sheriff asks people to not call 911 for fireworks complaints, but this number instead

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Independence Day is tomorrow and people may be shooting off their own fireworks at home to celebrate. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is anticipating hundreds of calls to dispatch because of this, but they want people to call a specific number for fireworks complaints.

“The Fourth of July is usually the busiest night of our year,” Sheriff Rob Streck said.

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The weekend ahead of Independence Day proved to already be busy for deputies. From Friday night to the overnight hours of Monday, more than 100 calls were made to dispatch. Last year, 97 calls were made during that timeframe.

Streck said on July 4, 2022, they averaged 678 calls. That was 300 calls more than what dispatch tends to get on a regular Monday night. The majority of the calls to service last year had to do with fireworks.

“It’s usually running from fireworks call to fireworks call. Obviously, people who are not used to hearing these loud noises, they sometimes think they’re other things” he said.

Streck said most fireworks calls do not need to be made to dispatch.

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“Regional dispatch centers are meant for emergency calls,” he said.

To allow deputies to help those who are in an emergency situation, Streck said people calling about fireworks should call the non-emergency number, (937)-225-4357.

“We hope that this calms the 911 calls,” Streck said.

The sheriff told News Center 7 that if anyone thinks they hear gunshots, then they can still call 911.

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