CORPUS CHRISTI — A brush field behind The Pelican Lounge on the island was in flames around 5 a.m. Sunday morning.
Firefighters say as they were returning from a previous call they saw roman candle fireworks land in the grassy area and spark a blaze.
The field is surrounded by soft sand making it hard for the Nueces County ESD2 to reach the flames.
Dale Scott is the fire chief for the station and he said the blaze spread rapidly and if his guys hadn't seen the fireworks the outcome could have been way worse.
"You actually have houses on the east side, west side, and kind of north side," Scott says. "And if the fire had gotten into the higher brush it could have been a very intense situation."
Situations like this one is why fireworks are restricted in certain areas.
Scott says with the climate like it is now combined with sparks from a roman candle it's a recipe for diaster.
"You're not allowed to have fire works in the city limits at all, and especially with the dry conditions there is now a burn ban in effect trying to prevent it," he says.
Fire crackers aren't commonly used to celebrate Memorial Day but firing up the barbecue pit is.
The fire chief says you have to be cautious about that too.
"Don't barbecue in the back of your truck," he says. "Sometimes people do that and they close the hatch up and they go home then the vehicles catch fire. Don't throw the hot coals into the dumpsters because you are going to set the dumpsters on fire."
With an influx of people headed to the beach on Memorial Day Scott says more fire fighters will be assigned to the island.
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