I start this by saying my only concern is the well-being of my three small dogs who do not respond well to the blasts and booms of illegal fireworks. Despite my searching the city of Phoenix and Phoenix PD websites for actual actionable reporting tools, I’ve come up empty.
For two hours, there have been 3 to 4 different locations as I can tell to the east of me, that have to be illegal fireworks, as they rock the windows at times.
Given my experience, I expect it to get much worse as we head into the new year. Is city of Phoenix, and Phoenix PD ever going to do a damn thing about this?
Did you try doing what the city suggested in their AMA here this week? https://www.reddit.com/r/phoenix/s/8SBzcCI43C
Not sure how well they’re responding, but strange you say you can’t find what you’re supposed to do when they literally came right here and said.
No, they're not going to do anything about it. Every since some fireworks were legalized people call. And every year the amount of illegal fireworks shot off grows.
Repealing that fuck ass law might help, but part of me thinks the cat is out of the bag at this point.
What would you even like the cops to do? Show up an hour after and ask them not to do it again? It’s not like they can write a ticket based off a phone call. They’d get a warning at best. And then congrats, you just wasted everyone’s time.
How would you suggest solving the issue with illegal fireworks? If it's not cops enforcing the law (which as I said is not what happens) then what's your idea?
Make them all illegal like they used to be.
I don’t have any other ideas, hence why I asked “what do you expect them to do?” I do not know how you stop a crime after it’s been committed. But there’s a gray area in what’s allowed and what’s not, and a lot of people don’t even know the difference. If you call to report them, how do they even know they’re actually lighting the illegal kind? My neighbors called the cops on my dogs for barking one time while we were on vacation, with my dogs… Cops deal with bs calls like that all the time. You want them to start responding to every single Karen that calls to report a sparkler or sidewalk popper? Cause that’s what they get constantly. People exaggerate and then they show up to an already cleaned up street with no fireworks in sight. Now what, they should start looking through trash cans and whatnot? Why? To retroactively stop a noise? Telly them don’t do it again. “If I have to come out here next July 4th you’re all in trouble”?
I agree with making them all illegal. We never should have legalized any fireworks in a desert, one that already struggles with air quality.
I disagree that the cops can do nothing. Sounds like your neighborhood is more respectful than mine, you can show up here on the holiday, and most days surrounding it, and easily pinpoint exactly which houses are shooting off illegal fireworks. Because they are aerial and it goes on for hours. If there was any fear of actual enforcement of the law against then maybe the number would decrease.
We used to have some real assholes that would light them off all day/night on July 4th, and til like 2am on new years. Even with two cops living in the neighborhood, it never stopped them. They moved away, thankfully.
Aerial fireworks are still very much illegal without a permit
Unfortunately, there is not much that we can do to get the fireworks to stop. I do recommend contacting your vet to get a as needed use prescription for gabapentin. Give it an hour before sunset. You can have it called into a Walmart pharmacy, get it same day, it's low cost and takes the edge off for puppers.
We could change the law back to what it was, and fireworks could go back to designated events instead of terrorizing our neighborhoods. That was perfectly fine
I don't think that can be done in the next 9 days. I agree the law sucks, but until that can be done there are stop gaps to help comfort the dogs through it.
Some ex marine that I used to live by would launch some kind of mortar in the air on new years. Shook houses for blocks.
Especially if your neighborhood is surrounded by mountains, the mountains will echo that shit.
I remember as a kid, my buddy got some m80s in mexico and we went up into the mountains to light em off.
When we rode our bikes back down, a cop was waiting at the top of the culdasac saying people reported what sounded like a bomb going off.
We said we heard it too and why we turned around hahahaha. Never again did we do that.
The stupid shit you do as a kid…
I believe it
Damn Republican governor Jan Brewer made it legal to shoot off fireworks here. It's that old hags fault!
It sucks. My neighbor one house behind me started shooting off big commercial aerial fireworks every night since last Sunday. My elderly dog had surgery on Thursday and they were going off the night before he had to go in, and then again 3 hours after I picked him up from surgery while he was still groggy from anesthesia. The painkillers aren’t doing anything to stop him freaking out every night, and he’s supposed to stay laying down, which isn’t happening when they go off. You can’t get any damn peace in your own house. This has only been happening in Phoenix in the last 5 years or so.
I’m so sorry for your dogs, this sucks, I’ve never lived anywhere, in my almost 60 years of life where this bullshit with fireworks is so crazy. Phoenix needs to sort this out
There’s this culture now of not only not respecting others, but trying to antagonize them. I’ve seen a lot more road rage in the last few years and fights breaking out in stores. People are looking for confrontations.
I agree. Phoenix Fire Code does prohibit the sale and use of consumer fireworks year-round. However, the state law overrides it for specified dates, making sales legal then.
Try sileo gel, its only for loud noises!
Thanks, two of my dogs are on it. It works ok.
Aww, that’s sad to hear. My dog freaks over fireworks too. Have you tried a thunder shirt for them? It has helped my dog to stay calmer with loud noises. The veterinarian can also prescribe a tranquilizer like trazidone.
I have a whole regimen I do with two of my dogs on Fouth of July and New Year’s Eve when I know it will happen, but I can’t do it on every random night of the week without warning on a dog that is just out of surgery and already on pain meds.
When I moved here in 1997 you couldn't even buy sparklers.
Yup. It was former governor Jan Brewer and her GOP led legislature who created the fireworks law in 2014
It's obvious that many people don't understand the law.
Pretty much across the Valley, any firework that goes BANG or lifts off the ground (or both) is illegal for private use. (It's not illegal to own them, but it is illegal to use them.) It's illegal to sell such fireworks as well.
In order for an arrest or citation to be issued, the LEO must observe the act. Telling the LEO who it is who's setting them off isn't good enough. Nor is video. It must be observed.
As a rule, local fireworks stands do not sell the illegal fireworks, because if caught, they are shut down immediately.
So, where do they come from? Both Mexico and New Mexico will sell you any fireworks you want.
I'm so tired of the fireworks. My poor animals get so scared and I feel trapped in my house surrounded by sound for hours
This all started by that one senator in AZleg that owns a firework store.
I have three dogs, my big standard poodle couldn't care less, the only thing that scares him is when dinner is late. But, my two smaller dogs are terrified so we hunker in bed together with the television blaring. I don't love it, but it's two days out of the year (ny and July 4). I expect it, plan for it, and accept it. It's actually easier to just do this than be angry, call the police, etc.
I live in central phx and the fireworks on the west side are insane. I see fireworks on the east side, too, but that west side sounds like a war zone, it really is insane. Even if cops cared, they wouldnt stand a chance.
The real assholes are the ones who light off a firework a week later, when I'm not expecting it. Because now I'm out walking my dogs, or maybe I'm not home, or maybe we're grilling in the backyard. There is no loud TV, they are not burrowed under blankets... that is a more justified night to call and maybe you'll get a response.
It’s definitely not only two days a year. It’s also Christmas Eve and in my neighborhood there are a couple of random ones every single night in the 2-3 weeks before every firework holiday.
And Memorial Day, Labor Day, and any other holiday these assholes decide is firework-worthy. I'm so over it.
This needs to be higher. I have access to some privileged information through my wife who works with the mayor of a local municipality. She spoke with the city attorney a few years ago and asked him how so many individuals around us appear to have access to the illegal aerial fireworks. Here's a breakdown of what he told her:
-There is a "fireworks mafia" that is able to push through pro fireworks legislature at will. They're either directly affiliated with or indirectly benefit from fireworks sales here in AZ.
-At least a few of these individuals are elected officials
-The city workers in charge of auditing these fireworks stands will often schedule dates to come by and inspect the shipping containers, allowing the sellers to remove illegal fireworks on those days.
-Illegal fireworks are bought in New Mexico and then shipped across state lines by these fireworks companies. "Special Orders" requesting illegal fireworks can be made through their website.
I have no clue how accurate all of this information is. All I know is that out here in Mesa, it seems like at least 10 different houses with one mile of me fire off those obnoxious window rattling mortars into the early morning every year. I'm assuming they're easier to obtain than they should be. I have three fireworks stands within 5 Miles of my house. I've gone in, looked around, and asked about the larger aerial fireworks and all but one denied selling them. One of the kids told me to reach out through their website which I never did. This time of the year sucks for those of us with infants and scared animals. It's unfortunate that local municipalities don't take it very seriously unless someone is dumb enough to light them off in front of their house over and over until a police car shows up.
Epileptic dog and less than year old baby in the house. I’d love for our useless fucking PD to do anything about the fireworks but unfortunately they’re more likely to shoot my dog and try to deport my baby, so i won’t be wasting my thumb strokes dialing their number.
Our Phoenix, PD, is drastically, understaffed, and horribly under supported by a good for nothing mayor. On top of that, I’m sorry we have to suffer and our dogs do as well.
They also routinely utilize excessive force, engage in racial discrimination, and murder our citizens.
https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-civil-rights-violations-phoenix-police-department-and-city-phoenix
https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2025/10/20/phoenix-police-shootings-trump-doj-oversight/
https://www.abc15.com/news/in-depth/phoenix-police-ranks-1-in-deadly-use-of-force-compared-to-other-major-departments
I’ll take active, staffed PD all day
yet here you are, whining they won't do anything about the fireworks.
My home was BROKEN INTO AND BURGLARIZED and they took a report over the phone. There was a shooting down the street, and nothing happened.
As I mentioned in another comment, they have over half of the cities budget, to the tune of a billion dollars. And they don't do SHIT besides attack homeless people pretty much, for sleeping in the increasingly criminalized public spaces.
How does the boot taste?
Funny, seeing as they have over a billion dollar budget and it keeps climbing every year, on top of all the overtime scandals they keep having
Police are class traitors. Fuck em
Fuck the police
They do a few big busts a year, only going after the very worst offenders (sellers with multiple locations).
Other than that, it's a free-for-all on people lighting off whatever they want, because the scale is far, far beyond anything the police can do anything about.
If you have dogs, keeping them inside and running a couple of strong white-noise generators in the house can at least cut down the doggy mayhem by half. Comfort vests and treats help, too.
Consider the math:
There are currently about 2.600 Phoenix police officers, while perhaps 1 in 10 of Phoenix's 650,000 homes are lighting off illegal fireworks, which works out to 65,000 offenders, which is 25 offenders per officer, and they're not all working at the same time.
Unless somebody gets hurt or a house catches fire, there's simply no reason (and no manpower) for the police to do anything about fireworks around New Years and 4th of July. You can see from their official page this year that it's pretty much hands-off and hope for the best:
https://www.phoenix.gov/administration/departments/communications/celebrate-safely.html
Not to mention that a general sentiment of contempt for the public among the police force has been growing for years, now.
If you want to go a little extreme, you could buy a drone and fly it over the offending houses around yours, and set up a couple of big floodlights on stands in your driveway.
I understand the feeling (our dogs don’t like them either) but let’s just think about this. Someone in your neighborhood sets off a couple big fireworks. Then what? An hour later (because they have 12 other calls) they show up and magically know who did it? What do you actually expect them to do? Even if they were camped in the area, it’s still pretty tough to figure out where they came from. Then try to figure out who the guilty party is. In most cases they have nothing to go on.
I’m guessing police still have no idea who set off a bomb in Chandler. That’s damn scary.
You’re right, Phoenix PD has been chronically understaffed for years as I understand it. All I know is my experience in Scottsdale. This crap stops or doesn’t even happen.
Sounds like you would be more comfortable back in Scottsdale.
Cameras everywhere. If they wanted to be effective, they would be.
Fire Marshall has jurisdiction here and I would argue animal control as well.
You'd think they could at minimum get some drones out there and utilize a police helicopter or two.
On the Peoria website it says the penalty is a misdemeanor and a fine up to $750. Unless someone is being reckless, fireworks are pretty low on the priority list.
And you have to be seen lighting the fuse. It's pretty difficult to get in trouble tbh
Even selling is pretty much a slap on the wrist. $1000 fine, product confiscation, misdemeanor.
Welcome to Maricopa County where you TOO can be the Main Character™.
You think PPD is responding to firecrackers? Cast aside all the hate for cops .... firecrackers? How many cops do you think there are assigned to a precinct? ILLEGAl?!?! Bro or Bra, we have folks shooting up on corners that are the most known corners and they can't even do ish about that. FIRECRACKERS?!?!
They’re more worried about people shooting gunshots in the air, and even in that case it’s a toss up if they respond
The problem isn’t firecrackers. It’s the professional grade aerials going off from five different sites within a block radius of my house. God, I wish it were firecrackers
lol I told him in another comment there was a shooting on my street two nights ago and literally nothing happened police wise.
Police have no duty to provide services, long standing legal precedent.
I'm arguing with the guy who thinks that they should show up for fireworks though
Absolutely not
Have you tried complaining on NextDoor??
😂 educate me. I had the extra app for a while, but I thought it was all scammers and scammers.
They could start by not allowing them to be sold in the city limits and requiring permits for the commercial ones. This was the law where we lived before moving here. It was considered a huge fire hazard. It won't stop every one but is a deterent. Some of this might be snowbirds and tourists. There's a house in the neighborhood behind us that is a short term rental and they routinely have loud music all night and fireworks during peak season. Visitors see them for sale in stores and assume its ok.
There is a state law the stops cities from doing this
There are already laws about all of this. Some have been on the books for almost 100 years.
No, but we need MORE LAWS to stop the people who are already doing illegal things! /s
Its legal to sell foreworks in stores in Phoenix.
Ones that fly?
Aerial fireworks are illegal in the entire state. People get them in Mexico or at any of the other fireworks stores in other states on the way to AZ. Only ground based fireworks are legal on the dates when firworks are actually legal to use. No bottle rockets or flying fireworks etc are permitted to be sold or used here, but it doesn't stop people from doing so.
Correct, hence my question to the poster on specifics on what they mean by “legal to sell in stores”
I've seen them in stores so those must be the ones that don't rise into the air.
Arizona is the Wild West
Extra freedoms
There’s someone a block south of me and someone else a block east of me who shoot off fireworks year round. I’m just extremely grateful they’re not my next door neighbors and I only have to hear the occasional boom. I figure if police were going to do something about it they would have by now.
One of the things they said in the ama was to get evidence. Officer sees it, a video, or multiple people calling about it.
If you want to stop a-hole neighbors, get evidence.
How about we just ban all personal fireworks again? With as dry as everything is, we don't need them.
The major home insurance companies are State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Liberty Mutual, Farmers, and Travelers. For properties using illegal fireworks and you don't know their insurer, document and send to the respective insurance companies. Document dates, times, and types of fireworks used. This can lead to the owners being warned that their insurance could be cancelled.
The second thing you can do is turn on lights at night. Lights are the enemy of nighttime pyrotechnics. The more people that do this, the more hostile it becomes to unlicensed pyrotechnicians.
Interesting information, thanks for sharing that!!!
Call the non-emergency number.
Unfortunately, while fireworks can still be bought and sold legally without a permit, there’s nothing any law enforcement agency will be able to do about it.
I hate to say it but in my time in the industry I have never once seen a citation or misdeme charge related to fireworks
Have you ever tried calling the Phoenix non-emergency number on an off day? It's already hopeless.
I recommend screaming into the void.
I called, you get an Ai bot that routes back to the websites. It’s a joke. If the fireworks are illegal why are there no enforcement mechanisms?
Look up the number of your local substation and you will reach a person who will put in the report.
Good advice, will do
I absolutely agree. It’s a complete joke. I’ve also heard that 911 services in Phoenix have recently become objectively Really Freaking Stupid.
Police don’t exist to serve and protect the citizens, and especially not here. They exist to serve and protect the rich and powerful.
Agreed. We lived our first 16 years in AZ in Scottsdale. We had no clue moving to a very nice part of Phoenix would be so much different and not in a good way of course
Im with you. The 4th and nye, I get it. Any other time it really bugs me bc of my doggie, others animals and of course, veterans. But small brained people like things that go boom.
I'm with you. Both of my babies get terrified.
Try ear protection for pups. They work surprisingly well.
Some cities do try to enforce the law, the issue is it’s incredibly hard. The officer would have to see it, and it would have to be in public. If you report it, by the time an officer responds (on a particularly violent and busy holiday) the evidence has literally destroyed itself. The best hope is that they’re continuing to light them off.
Additionally, a lot of people light them off in their back yards. Cops aren’t writing warrants and kicking in doors for illegal fireworks (in 99% of cases I’d imagine).
I do not have dogs or babies and I Hate New Year’s Eve and also the 4th of July. I live in Gilbert and it seems am surrounded by fireworks that continue to about 2am. Feel like it’s just something we need to endure.
please, scare my dogs
They're starting already? I usually don't hear it until NYE.
Exactly, it’s been ramping up for the last couple nights in the trashy area to the west of Royal Palm Park… 19th ave and beyond.
Can I ask why you moved from Scottsdale to anywhere near a trashy area (your words)?
Fair ask…. We moved to a nice North Central neighborhood into a new build house. We live in a great neighborhood, but 4 to 6 blocks to the east of us and beyond and it gets sketchy
That's Phoenix for you.
Edit: You can sedate your dogs for the time being. Talk to your vet.
Been there, done that. That’s a bullshit excuse, there’s no reason we should have the disturbances that we have in this city.
As the founding fathers intended.
Buckeye PD even asked to light some off with us in 2021 when they did their rounds because someone called angry that people were having fun.
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You are correct sir or ma’am, thank you very much for that. I’ll blame my Apple iPhone, and it’s shitty software, but yes, you are correct. I will make the correction now.