North Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews were busy over July 4, and there were several fireworks-related injuries and fires, but the number was less than expected despite high temperatures and fire danger.

NKF&R firefighters responded to 16 calls between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on July 4 – less than twice the district’s 2023 average of 9.7 incidents per day.

The two most-notable incidents occurred late July 4 and early July 5. NKF&R crews were called to Suquamish just before midnight after a 23-year-old man was struck in the face by a mortar that exploded at close range. A medical transport helicopter took him to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.

Just after 1 a.m., NKF&R was dispatched to a reported structure fire off Orca Drive near Indianola. A Suquamish Police Department officer and a Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office deputy were first on scene and slowed the fire with extinguishers.

Firefighters arrived to find a dumpster ablaze with flames spreading to an approximately 500-square-foot concession and restroom facility at the Indianola Ball Field. Crews snuffed the fire, preventing damage from most of the interior.

The county fire marshal’s office determined it was likely an accident caused by improper disposal of spent fireworks.

Other incidents included a small blaze that spread from a recreational fire at a private residence near Arness Park to char 100 square feet of driftwood early July 3, and two small fireworks-sparked brush fires on Marine View Drive and Arklow Place that were squelched by bystanders later that evening.

July 2, a utility trailer in a Suquamish home’s yard was consumed by a fire. That incident’s cause remains undetermined, but neighbors described abundant fireworks in the area. A fire scorched five mature arborvitae and a section of wooden fence. Spent bottle rockets were found near the fire’s origin.