How illegal fireworks had NJ town looking like 'Magic Kingdom'

BARNEGAT — Some people are in trouble for illegal fireworks, after the greater Ocean County area looked like "Magic Kingdom" for the Fourth of July, township police said.

State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan said at Monday's state briefing that 9 fireworks injuries had been reported over the holiday weekend, six of them "serious." He did not elaborate on where in the state those injuries occurred.

As of Monday, police confirmed one weekend fireworks-related death in Jersey City. The man's identity had not yet been publicly disclosed.

Barnegat Police said between July 1 and midnight July 4, they responded to 64 fireworks complaints — more than half of them on Saturday, and the large majority of those reports within a 90 minute span after sunset, starting at 8 p.m., according to police.

The same four-day span last year saw just one fireworks complaint, police said.

Barnegat Police emphasized the concentration of the fireworks by sharing two heat maps from Google, representing the concentration of fireworks calls on the holiday weekend.

Several individuals have been charged with illegal fireworks possession or use, police said.

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