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Staff Report
The Fourth of July should not come as a surprise that illegal fireworks will be set off at some point in the city of Orange and in the tinder-dry hills along Santiago Creek, in the hills east of Villa Park.
But illegal firework complaint phone calls into the Orange Police Department switchboard were met with long wait times and subsequent cut-offs, and even a call back where the answering dispatcher was laughing and told the caller to “please hold,” and, after ten minutes, was cut-off.
Another call into the public 714-744-7444 was met with, “Orange Police Department 911 Line, what is your emergency?”
When told it was an illegal fireworks call, again the dispatcher said “please hold.”
Another call back received a “can you hold” from the same dispatcher after the caller yelled that they did not want to hold but the female dispatcher placed the caller on hold anyway.
Meanwhile illegal fireworks were going off on the border of Santiago Regional Park which could be seen by residents in nearby Serrano Heights.
“I am standing on my deck looking west to the ocean and several illegal fireworks are going off right next to Santiago Regional Park,” said one Serrano Heights resident.
“You can see it is along Meads St. which runs right along the creek where dry brush is abundant, yet I get laughs and got cut-off after a ten-minute hold when I called into the police department.”
“We were forcefully evacuated by obnoxious Orange Police due to fire three times, yet they laughed at me when I called in to alert them of illegal fireworks, it is the height of arrogance and incompetence by the Orange Police.”
Homeowners in Serrano Heights have been subjected to three evacuations since 2002 due to fire yet Orange Police treat illegal firework calls with disdain.
HMG-CN will follow up on this most disturbing story.
10:26 update:
Resident once again called OPD and reached “Lori” on the OPD phone who”needed a visual of illegal firework lighters” of else you will have to wait.”
