Before July Fourth each year, Milwaukee Police Department Assistant Chief Steven Johnson said he unreels the hoses at his house in case something catches fire nearby.
“I understand the concerns of the residents. I live here, too,” Johnson said at a Common Council Public Safety and Health Committee meeting in late July. “It’s just the problems that we encounter when we are trying to investigate, that’s the problem.”
Common Council members and city officials are discussing how to crack down on illegal fireworks use that can cause public safety issues.
Milwaukee ordinance prohibits the sale, use and possession of all fireworks, anything with a “smoke, a bang, or sparkle,” even if they were purchased outside the city limits.
However, issuing municipal citations is a challenge because officers have to identify and have a complainant verify the person possessing or setting off fireworks, said Heather Hough, chief of staff for MPD.
Problems from fireworks
Tony Bueno, director of emergency communications for the City of Milwaukee, said there was a 5% increase in the volume of fireworks-related calls year over year, with 775 calls on July 4 and 5.
Between July 1 and July 5, the City of Milwaukee issued five citations for illegal fireworks activity compared with 14 citations in 2025 and seven in 2024 for the same period, according to Hough.
On July 3 and 4, emergency responders treated three minor burn injuries related to fireworks, according to Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski.
Lipski said two structure garage fires on July 4 are being investigated to see if fireworks caused them – one in the 5200 block of North 34th Street and the other in the 2700 block of North 55th Street.
Ald. Peter Burgelis asked if police or the Department of Neighborhood Services could enforce a citation for property owners who allow or facilitate fireworks use and inquired if the fire and police departments track where illegal fireworks are bought during investigations.
“We are willing to work with our lawmakers and policymakers on other options that might make that easier, including the idea Ald. Burgelis brought up of issuing a citation or some type of violation to a property owner,” Hough said.
West Milwaukee
Another challenge, says at least one official, is the sale of fireworks in nearby suburbs and other locations outside of Milwaukee.
Burgelis, who represents District 11, has requested records from the Village of West Milwaukee, which is next to his district. West Milwaukee permits the sale of novelty fireworks like sparklers or smoke bombs, which is allowed under state statute.
“My biggest concern is that these municipal permits put more fireworks into the hands of nearby residents and further stretch limited public safety resources,” Burgelis said in an email.
Burgelis sent a letter on July 6 to West Milwaukee Village President John Stalewski and village trustees requesting records on West Milwaukee’s fireworks user permits, other fireworks permits and other related documents or correspondence from 2020 to 2026.
He referenced an “increased volume of illegal fireworks purchased in West Milwaukee” putting a burden on Milwaukee’s emergency response resources and asked the village to consider adopting a municipal ordinance prohibiting the retail sale of consumer fireworks.
In his reply that day, Stalewski said that the village would respond to the request and that no illegal fireworks have been sold from the permitted vendors.
The village did not issue any fireworks user permits, according to the July 8 response to Burgelis’ records request, but it did provide records of issued temporary conditional use permits.
West Milwaukee’s permits
The village issues temporary conditional use permits for the sale of novelty fireworks from tents, usually in store parking lots.
Vendors have to submit an application, pay fees and go through a public hearing with the Village of West Milwaukee Plan Commission to get permission to sell on specific days, Stalewski said in an interview.
“Everything that they sell has to go through an inspection and inventory listing to make sure that there are no fireworks being sold that are anything beyond the statute on novelty fireworks,” Stalewski said.
After receiving complaints from residents in West Allis and the Jackson Park neighborhood, the Village Plan Commission in May directed staff to investigate options for eliminating the temporary conditional use permit for fireworks novelty sales or establishing a fee to adequately cover possible administrative expenses, according to meeting minutes.
In a letter emailed on July 27, Burgelis acknowledged that the village requires compliance with applicable laws. He asked the plan commission to evaluate if the conditional use permits are mitigating impacts to public health, safety and welfare.
“Those considerations should not end at the municipal boundary where the foreseeable impacts of the approved use extend directly into neighboring communities,” he wrote.
Stalewski said West Milwaukee is likely to discuss the permits before next summer.
Fire station
The Milwaukee Fire Department provides fire and emergency medical services to West Milwaukee and houses Engine 33 in the former West Milwaukee fire station at South 45th and West Burnham streets.
Burgelis is exploring whether the city could cancel the longstanding agreement, which he said requires a three-year notice.
“If that municipality overtly makes public safety enforcement more difficult for the City of Milwaukee, then we are under no obligation to continue protecting that community’s residents,” he said.
Stalewski doesn’t anticipate that happening.
“We have an excellent relationship with the City of Milwaukee government on multiple levels,” Stalewski said. “And I don’t anticipate any change to that.”
Lipski said he is aware of the communication.
“The MFD is making no moves to alter or terminate the fire protection agreement and will have no comment on the discussions that the policymakers are having,” he said.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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