Fireworks in San Francisco's Chinatown harder to find
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The San Francisco police and fire departments are warning the public about the dangers of fireworks.
Chinatown has historically been the place to buy them in San Francisco and police know it all too well.
READ MORE: Bay Area Fourth of July Fireworks and Events 2016
It was so brazen in Chinatown during the old days where street sellers would set off firecrackers on Grant Avenue, so the buyers would know who to get the big and best stuff from.
Grant Avenue would be crawling with these fireworks and dealers, but times have changed.
ABC7 News asked street barkers where fireworks could be purchased, but they were no help.
In Chinatown, you'll still find the so-called runners, the neighborhood teens who take you to where you can buy fireworks.
Usually, they're in a souvenir store right under the counter.
This year, the runners are just harder to find. "For the past I don't know 40 years, I've been coming down here to buy fireworks and this is the very first time that I've been here roughly from 10 a.m. and not one person has asked me to buy any fireworks," Noe Valley resident Edward Samonte said.
Samonte and other buyers ABC7 News spoke with believe it's because many are turning to the Internet.
There's also increased police presence in Chinatown this week. "We just want to make it a safe Fourth of July for everyone," a San Francisco police officer said.
San Francisco police and fire even held a news conference Thursday on the dangers of fireworks. "All fireworks are illegal in San Francisco," a man with the San Francisco Police Department said.
Sparklers and other so-called safe and sane varieties are illegal. One woman told ABC7 News she was injured by one of them. "I just left the restaurant after eating dinner. As I walked outside, I was hit in the face with one," she said.
She took us to a store where we found smaller fireworks, which are still illegal brazenly displayed outside on the counters.
Inside ABC7 News was told, more powerful ones.
