Fireworks likely caused the roof fire at a vacant North Side school building — an incident that was just one of 85 fireworks complaints Pittsburgh police responded to Thursday night alone, authorities said.
Though aerial fireworks within the past several years were made legal in Pennsylvania, it is still against the law to light them within 150 feet of any type of structure, nor are they allowed in parks or other public property.
That rules out just about all of Pittsburgh.
Three of Thursday’s fireworks calls resulted in damage or injury, said Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz, including an incident at McNaugher School on Maple Street.
Cruz said someone tossed a firework into the school gym during a dance class, leaving a girl with minor burns to her foot.
Police also believe a large brush fire on Rose Street in the Hill District was caused by fireworks.
About 11 p.m. officers gave a warning to a group lighting fireworks at the baseball field at the former Horace Mann Elementary School on Shadeland Avenue in the city’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. Police asked the group to knock it off and clean up the debris.
About 40 minutes later, Cruz said, the roof of the old school was on fire. The two-alarm blaze caused between $50,000 to $60,000 worth of damage.
Between June 1 and 21, police received 137 fireworks complaints, authorities said. During that same time last year, they said, police received 28 calls.
It’s frustrating, Director Wendell Hissrich conceded, that this holiday weekend will not include the city’s grand fireworks show, which was canceled amid rising covid-19 cases.
“Many people will be tempted to put on their own displays,” he said, “but I urge them to refrain and celebrate in other ways in order to stay safe during these challenging times.”
Public Safety officials said earlier this week, with events Downtown canceled and bars and restaurants in the county barred from dine-in services, officers will be watching for large private gatherings and suggesting social-distancing guidelines when needed.
In Allegheny County, health officials dropped the ban on large gatherings from the 250 suggested by state health officials to 25 for the next week. The county saw the number of new covid-19 cases soar this week, and Friday was the fourth straight day with new cases in the triple digits.
