Call 311 in Virginia Beach to report illegal fireworks July 4th [Video]

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — About a week or two before the Fourth of July is when the phone lines really start to ring inside the Virginia Beach emergency dispatch center.

That’s according to Carmen VanVoorhis with Emergency Communications and Citizen Services.

“It’s a no-leave weekend for us,” VanVoorhis said. “We need everyone, all hands on deck.”

She said the emergency line gets dozens of calls when illegal fireworks go off.

“If we’re looking at the numbers, between about 8 p.m. until about 2 a.m., we’re taking an average of 70 to 80 calls an hour,” VanVoorhis said.

She said on the Fourth of July last year, emergency dispatchers received 96 calls in just one hour. 75% of those calls were related to fireworks.

“For us, it bogs down the system …