TOOELE, Utah — Tooele residents speak out after fireworks were thrown by teenagers into several yards late Friday night.
Robert and Tearra Mills have lived in their Tooele neighborhood for 12 years, and thought it was just another Friday night.
“We were cleaning up the backyard at 10 p.m. cause we’re old, and we heard some teenagers outside the fence. One of them said, 'Can I get an “aww yeah?' And my wife, bless her heart, gave them an 'aww yeah' and we thought everything was cool,” Robert said.
“Then they threw a flower over into our yard, and it started sparking through the backyard, terrified our little rescue dog so bad he hates fireworks, and took off. We have some little burn marks in the ground,” Tearra said.
“It was anger and frustration and shock, and just like, why,” Robert said.
Neighbor Jill Pitts’ Ring camera footage captured some of the frenzy happening right down the street.
“I went to take the garbage out, and I could smell smoke, and I thought, 'Oh, that's got to be really close. I wonder what's on fire?' And I turned to walk back up the ramp, and there's the neighbor's yard on fire,” she said.
That yard belonged to the Mills’ close friend, who was not home. His dog was in the yard along with a trailer that had a propane tank attached to the back of it.
“I called Ricky here and said, 'Who's out in your yard? Who is this? Who did this?'” Tearra said. “Some girl came running up and pounding on the window, telling me, 'Do you live here? Your house is on fire!' One of them jumped over the fence with the hose and opened the gate so that she could get the fire out. The other one called 911.”
“Those two girls, whoever it was that stopped, they were awesome,” Pitts said.
"That doesn't happen in big cities, and Tooele I get it’s getting bigger, but there's still a homey feeling, especially in this neighborhood,” Tearra said.
Despite burn marks along the grass and fence, the dog and home were both safe. Tearra said the fire was out by the time the fire department arrived, and the same kind of firework was found in both yards.
“It was terrifying. I was freaked out all night. I was so worried. First of all, they were going to come back, maybe retaliate, but second of all, knowing that this grass is cut down as low as it is, still burns as it did, it's just super scary,” she said.
They are all asking parents to educate their kids about firework safety and are begging those who live in the neighborhood to please be careful this summer.
“I want no more fires. I want people, and teenagers, everyone to just be more cognizant of their surroundings and just make better decisions,” Robert said. "We do have to be there for each other, and this isn't it.”
“Could have burned down more than one house,” Pitts said. “Don't play with fireworks.”
FOX 13 News reached out to the Tooele Police Department to see if those responsible have been found or if there are any charges so far but did not receive a response.
