As most people stock up on coals, burgers and hot dogs for the Fourth of July, the Charleston police and fire departments prepare for a calls of potential fires or injures caused by unusually high temperatures.

Lt. Brad Oyer of the Charleston Police Department said there is not an influx of calls, citations or accidents logged with the police department during Independence Day.

“We take a lot of fireworks complaints, you know, people getting woken up because their neighbors are setting off fireworks, but we aren’t going from call to call because of DUI accidents,” Oyer said.

Independence Day by nature is celebrated with barbecues, drinking and fireworks—a dangerous combination, he said.

Oyer said one concern for the police department is keeping the roads safe.

“Please drive carefully; please drive sober—we are definitely going to be out doing patrols…Police officers know and understand the risk that come with holiday weekends,” Oyer said. “There is going to be more people on the road, so we are going to be on the road enforcing DUI laws as we always do.”

In order to decrease road congestion that takes place after the eruption of fireworks concludes, Oyer said the police department is diverting all traffic east-and-westbound at Lerna and Loxa roads.

“(Before) if you were trying to get from Mattoon to Charleston, there was a 20 minute delay as the firework traffic lets out,” Oyer said.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Bennett of the Charleston Fire Department said the recent drought should make people even more cautious.

“Right now—especially with this dry weather—the fear is that if you set off a firework that it is going to catch the grass on fire—grass spreads quickly when it is on fire and can spread to (other) structures,” Bennett said.

Oyer said his department has the same concern.

“My biggest concern is people being injured from (fire),” Oyer said. said.

Bennett said it is also a possibility for people to receive variations of burns if fireworks are improperly handled.

“Anytime you get a burn you need to call 911 and seek medical attention,” Bennett said. “It’s best to have someone look at it and check it out. What you might think is a first-degree might end up later being a second-degree.”

Getting a first-degree burn is equivalent to getting a sunburn damaging only the outer or surface layer of skin, second-degree burns are identifiable by blistering of the skin and third-degree burns penetrate through all skin layers, resulting in the damaging or burning away of nerves, Bennett said.

“Try and cool the area off if it’s a blister,” Bennett said. “If it is a third-degree burn, try and keep the area clean the best you can because you don’t want to get any dirt or anything in it because you don’t want it to get infected.”

Bennett said second-degree burns are the worst on the pain threshold because the person can still feel sensations.

On July 4 of last year, Bennett said the fire department received only six emergency medical services calls. On the same date in 2010, the fire department received eight emergency medical services calls, and one call regarding non-fire related smoke detector activation.

“(July 4) isn’t too awfully bad,” he said.

People should celebrate, but do so in a smart, secure way, Oyer said.

“Enjoy the independence of our country, but do so safely—don’t mix fireworks and alcohol,” Oyer said. “All the celebration in the world isn’t worth one person going to the hospital.”

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].