"Everything went up in flames": Quincy woman concerned about wildlife after fireworks accident on beach

A stretch of sand dunes on a Quincy, Massachusetts beach is turned black with ash, and a woman who lives on the shoreline says it's the result of a fireworks accident. 

Victoria Trujillo-Rohrs moved to Quincy with her family from out of state last year, and the city quickly captured their heart. "We do a morning walk, an afternoon walk, and an evening walk on the beach every single day," Victoria said. "It's so great to see all the wildlife and crabs and birds. It's a great place to live." 

They were so looking forward to their first Fourth of July in their new home. Then the night before, they heard a small group setting off fireworks near their backyard beach. 

"It caught immediately. Everything went up in flames, everybody was screaming. [My daughter] was losing it, so I took her back," Victoria said. "My husband was knocking on doors. He was bringing buckets down to try and put it out."

Fire crews from the nearby Germantown station got there fast and quickly contained the flames. Quincy's police chief had warned against fireworks just two days before, reminding neighbors they are illegal and pose serious risks for injury and fire. 

"A few neighbors, one of them wasn't even home and a guy down the way turned his hose on and just started trying to protect his house," Victoria said. 

Research shows that after fireworks fade, their residue remains - impacting wildlife, water, and air quality. The family is upset over the view out their window, but mostly the damage they can't see. 

"It's not even really what it looks like, but there's a lot of protected bird species that are here. That's more of the problem is the wildlife," she explained. Victoria said police scoured the beach that Sunday. 

The whole situation has been so unsettling for her young daughter. "Scared of the fireworks. I don't even know. Just terrified," said Elena. 

And they know it could have easily been so much worse. 

"It was right next to the grass, and it just exploded out the sides because it went in both opposite directions," Victoria said. "I think it's lucky that nobody got hurt because there were a bunch of people here and fireworks were just shooting out the side and it literally could have hurt somebody."