While Hawai'i residents are preparing to hit the streets with fireworks in hand this holiday, firefighters and other safety officials are gritting their teeth and gearing up for a long, hard weekend.

Honolulu Fire Chief Kenneth Silva said he wished residents would leave the fireworks to the professionals.

"Historically, it has been a big problem for us," he said of the Fourth of July holiday.

Silva, like fire chiefs before him, has called for a ban on the use of fireworks by residents.

"It has always been the Fire Department's stance, even though it is not a popular one," he said. "We have to be concerned about the safety of the people in the community and our firefighters."

New Year's fireworks, like those on the Fourth, lead to injuries and fires, he said, but the summer holiday is particularly bad.

In addition to injuries caused by fireworks use — there were 57 last Independence Day, according to the Injury Prevention and Control Program at the Health Department — and the increased risk of house fires, the Fire Department is kept busy fighting brushfires.

"Numerous brushfires," Silva said. "And that is one less rescue or medical call or house fire we can quickly respond to. We have a finite amount of resources."

Firefighters battled 101 brushfires on July 4, 2005, said Capt. Kenison Tejada, a Fire Department spokesman. Eighty percent were thought to be related to fireworks.

Fireworks permit sales — 136 as of the end of the business day Thursday — indicate that fireworks use this holiday should be similar to last year's, fire officials said. Permit sales, at satellite city halls, continue through Monday.

Last year, fire Capt. Terry Seelig said, two individuals purchased a combined 700 permits, bringing sales to 1,080 for the holiday.

There were 11 reports of brushfires around O'ahu yesterday, Seelig said.

The worst was near Hau Bush, a surf site and narrow beach in 'Ewa Beach, that required four companies to contain, Seelig said. A brushfire near the Hawai'i Kai Golf Course that started Wednesday rekindled, requiring firefighters from the Hawai'i Kai station to respond, he said.

Only one fire was caused by fireworks, Seelig said, a small rubbish fire near Damien High School.

Silva said a particularly damp spring has left many locations with a thick crop of brush, and its green appearance doesn't mean it can't burn.

He recommended homeowners trim brush back from their property lines and make sure fire department vehicles have access.

Fire officials also recommended that families plan escape routes from their homes and have a meeting place in the event they are evacuated.

Residents also should keep an eye out and report unsafe activities by people with fireworks.

Patty Dukes, chief of the city's Emergency Medical Services, said most fireworks victims take themselves to emergency rooms.

"The ones we respond to are life-threatening," she said.

Usually, she said, they involve people who have modified fireworks by placing them inside some type of container, inadvertently creating a pipe bomb.

"A man was killed several years ago when shrapnel from one hit him in the back of the head," she said.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said Honolulu police and fire officials will be out in force for this year's Fourth of July festivities, stepping up efforts to keep the celebrations safe and legal.

Police will cite people who break the laws on fireworks use, he said. The city hopes to avoid a repeat of last year when there were some "major violations" islandwide, and in particular by people illegally using fireworks at Ala Moana Beach Park.

State law also prohibits the use of aerial fireworks and requires that those using firecrackers first purchase a permit from a satellite city hall. Each $25 permit allows the holder to purchase up to 5,000 firecrackers, and more than one permit is allowed per person. No permit is required to buy sparklers or other novelty fireworks items.

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.