Ritz-Carlton Fireworks Spark 200 Phone Calls to Sheriff’s Dept.

As fireworks exploded Thursday night at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, almost 200 phone calls from irate or curious residents tied up both emergency and business lines at the Sheriff’s Department for 30 minutes, officials said.

“There were enough calls on the emergency line to interfere with any real emergency that might have come in,” Lt. Jay Mendez said. “It’s just really disruptive.”

The crackling show was part of a grand finale event for a business convention that ended Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton. Hotel representatives declined to comment on the occasion. The Harbor Patrol also received about two dozen calls.

Fireworks at the Ritz are not uncommon, law enforcement officials said. The hotel often has customers with city permits to have fireworks for special events, officials said.

“They don’t have [fireworks] that often,” said Harbor Patrol Sgt. Karl Von Voigt. “This may have been larger than what they normally have. We got more calls this time than in the past.”