Independence Day is no stranger to violence and fire. After all, it marks a time when we fought through war to gain independence as a nation. However, the way we celebrate in modern times has turned into a very dangerous ordeal, leading to frequent injuries and fires that could easily be prevented. One Sacramento family has experienced a series of unfortunate events, having their house catch fire three different times over three different Fourth of Julys.

Illegal fireworks in their neighborhood have left the home of Soledad Barada and Samuel Platero in disarray.

Their home has undergone three different incidents caused by illegal fireworks lit in their neighborhood, over three different years. The family has said that they do not even personally celebrate the holiday anymore, only spending the day preparing their home and “hunkering down.” This year they said the fireworks were so aggressive, severe, and plentiful that they felt it sounded like a war outside.

This year the victim part of the house was their yard. They are left with a burnt-up yard, complete with a melted trampoline and destroyed plants. The fireworks in their area went well into the night of July 4^th/morning of July 5^th, which is when the family believes the fire actually happened. The fire likely spread very quickly through their yard, lighting up anything in its path.

Barada and Platero were so anxious about a fire that they even sent their three oldest kids to spend the night elsewhere to keep them safe.

The parents, however, did not want to leave the house empty as they wanted to be there in case something happened so they could react quickly to prevent as much damage as they could. Because they had been there, they were able to call the fire department who responded quickly and were able to put out the fire before any flames reached their home.

Throughout the three different fireworks fires that have affected the family’s home, the front house and garage have been damaged the same way the backyard was. Barada spoke happily that she ended up making her children spend the night away from the home. She even had a packed go bag with the family’s important documents that she had ready to take if the fire reached the house.

The family’s horrible bad luck is not the only thing to blame in this tragic story. The lack of care and effort to prevent illegal fireworks is responsible. Illegal fireworks had been going off periodically leading up to the holiday and the family called a hotline run by the fire department multiple times but never had a call answered.