PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL — Palm Beach County firefighters were dispatched to 29 fires in the six hours after the Fourth of July fireworks ended, and sheriff's deputies made 12 DUI arrests over the three-day holiday weekend, the two agencies said.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue reported crews responded to the 29 fires between 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday. Every fire was contained quickly, with no major property damage noted, according to PBCFR.
The agency did not release information on where the fires occurred or what caused them.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office DUI Unit ran high-visibility saturation patrols from July 3 through July 5, PBSO said. Deputies made 12 DUI arrests during the three-day operation.
The unit also reported 121 traffic stops, 2 felony arrests, 9 misdemeanor arrests, 26 criminal citations, 59 traffic citations and 47 traffic warnings.
The DUI Unit worked with PBSO's Marine Unit on Independence Day weekend boating enforcement, which produced one boating-under-the-influence arrest, according to the sheriff's office.
PBSO did not release the identities of those arrested, the locations of the arrests, or the areas of the county the saturation patrols focused on.
At Palm Beach County Fire Rescue's Communications Center, 911 call takers answered 1,658 emergency calls during the three-day holiday weekend, the agency said.
In total, PBCFR communicators handled 3,611 calls — a mix of 911 emergencies, alarm-company calls, hospital calls, field crews and other agencies.
That averaged more than 50 calls every hour, or roughly one call every 72 seconds, according to PBCFR.
The Communications Center dispatches units for PBCFR and 13 other municipalities that share its dispatch system, the agency said.
Get Palm Beach County news and weather updates — local reporting, daily forecasts, and breaking coverage across the region.
