While it was a safe Fourth of July on O'ahu, the Honolulu Fire Department said yesterday it hopes people will refrain from any dangerous activity with fireworks.

HFD Capt. Terry Seelig said there were 73 fires on July 3 and 4, with most being rubbish fires and brushfires. None was serious. Of those fires, 45 were fireworks-related, he said.

"While we are happy that there were no serious injuries or damage to buildings, we are concerned that on an average day, we have about six reported fires, and on July Fourth, there were more than 50," Seelig said. "This shows how dangerous fireworks can be."

Honolulu firefighters were also kept busy yesterday, responding to at least seven brushfires, including those reported in Waimanalo, Lanikai, Kalihi, Makua and Waipahu.

He said no brushfire over the holiday weekend was larger than eight acres.

Last year, Honolulu firefighters responded to 57 fire calls on July 4 (compared to 56 this year). Of those, 26 were fireworks-related, Seelig said. This year a much higher percentage of fire calls were fireworks-related, 62 percent vs. 46 percent.

Seelig said the final figures for fireworks permits were not available. Through Wednesday, the city had issued 122 permits for firecracker purchases. That's 10 fewer permits than for the 2008 Independence Day holiday and 171 fewer than 2004. Each permit allows a consumer to buy 5,000 firecrackers.

Permit numbers have been steadily declining for years, Seelig said. And he stressed that even legal fireworks are a public safety hazard if they are not handled properly.