With calls to the Boston Police Department about fireworks up 5,543% this month compared to June of last year, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Friday a new task force with a mission to "take fireworks off the streets."
The task force will be made up of the mayor's chief of civic engagement, the four at-large city councilors, the Boston Arson Squad, the Boston Police Department's Bureau of Community Engagement and other community leaders to be announced next week, according to an announcement.
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"Fireworks are a serious issue not only in the City of Boston, but all across the country. People lose sleep, babies get woken up, some people with PTSD experience real harms, pets are terrified and they're fire hazards," said Mayor Walsh, who has talked previously about hearing the crack of illegal fireworks in his own neighborhood.