HILL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Fireworks can be dangerous. The Hillsboro Fire Department wants residents to proceed with caution this weekend.
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2024, over 14,000 people were treated in the ER for fireworks injuries, and 11 deaths due to fireworks.
- Commander John Martin with the Hillsboro Fire Department said that with the upcoming weekend, he wants residents to be safe while using fireworks.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“I haven’t seen a fire that big since the fire at the dam," said Jenny Jordan of Bosque County.
Jenny Jordan said this is second largest fire she’s ever seen and believes it’s one that could’ve been easily prevented. She shared a video with 25 News of the fire she saw while driving.
“We went to a friend's house to pick up a late Christmas present, and after we picked it up, we went down Juniper Cove Road and right across. We saw that huge fire, and I was very shocked," said Jordan.
The fire Jordan and her boyfriend saw was on FM 1713. Leeann Gatlin, a Hill County resident, said she first heard fireworks and then spotted a large fire in her neighbor's pasture.
Commander John Martin with the Hillsboro Fire Department said that with the upcoming weekend, he wants residents to be safe while using fireworks.
“If the fire does start, call 911 early, that’s in any type of emergency situation, time is always the biggest factor," said Martin.
Jordan said she immediately posted the video on social media, hoping to warn others in her neighborhood.
“I'd better get this on video and get it on the Hill County Rants and Raves to warn everybody else who lives down 1713, just in case the fire reached their houses. Luckily, it was contained in a pasture, but I think it was six acres, and it went on until about 9 o’clock," said Jordan.
