Each year during this time, the Sacramento Police Department experiences an increased number of calls from the community reporting the use of illegal fireworks. Here is some information regarding Safe and Sane fireworks, and what happens when the police department is notified of illegal fireworks use. 

Safe and Sane fireworks can only be sold from fireworks stands that are properly licensed. In the City of Sacramento, these sales may only take place from noon on June 28th to 10 p.m. on July 4th. The only legal fireworks in the State of California that can be sold and/or held in possession must have the seal of the State Fire Marshall imprinted upon them. All fireworks that do not have this seal will be confiscated and appropriate enforcement action will be taken. 

It is legal to possess, use, display or discharge Safe and Sane fireworks in the City of Sacramento from noon on June 28th to 12:01 a.m. on July 5th. 

To report the use of illegal fireworks in the City of Sacramento, please call our non-emergency number at 916-264-5471 or email us at commresponse@pd.cityofsacramento.org. When a citizen calls to report the use of illegal fireworks, if the caller can identify the person lighting the illegal fireworks AND they wish to have an officer make contact for a crime report and citizen’s arrest, a police officer will be dispatched as soon as one is available. If the caller does not wish to be contacted by a police officer, then the dispatcher will handle the complaint with an All-Units radio broadcast. Any police unit near the location and available will patrol the area. If firecrackers or other illegal fireworks are being set off or sold in an officer’s presence, the officer is required to confiscate them and take appropriate enforcement action. 

Items that are commonly referred to as M-80’s, M-100’s, etc., are not fireworks; they are considered explosive devices. If you encounter one of these items, do not touch or move the device. Evacuate people away from the device, and call 911 immediately.  However, if you are calling to report only the sounds of these items being used in the area, the call will be handled with an All-Units radio broadcast. It can be very difficult to narrow down the exact location that these sounds are coming from. 

Please keep in mind that we get inundated with calls of this type near the 4th of July, so both our call answer times and our response times can be delayed and we appreciate your patience. We wish everyone a safe and Happy 4^th of July!