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ST. ANN, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Officers throughout St. Louis County spent the last few days focusing on enforcing illegal fireworks ordinances, and First Alert 4 got a firsthand look at that enforcement with St. Ann police.

“So this is my first Fourth of July,” said Officer Dalton Caringer.

Officer Caringer, just four months in at the St. Ann Police Department, was patrolling the city’s east side on Thursday. He was listening for big booms and looking for any illuminations in the sky.

“We’re just kind of looking for anybody possibly launching off fireworks,” said Caringer.

St. Louis County, along with the city of St. Ann, bans any discharge of fireworks unless the person has a permit. That will keep Caringer busy for most of his 12-hour shift.

“So we’re going to be enforcing that for the majority of the night,” said Caringer.

Over in the city of St. Louis, police announced a big fireworks bust, finding an arsenal of fireworks being sold in a storefront off Riverview Boulevard, according to police.

In St. Ann, signs all across the city indicate it’s a bad idea to own any fireworks in town.

Officer Caringer did not find anybody illegally shooting off fireworks during the ride-along but said he expects it to be much busier at 9 or 10 o’clock at night.

He still kept busy throughout the ride-along, meeting and greeting with city residents and even working with his colleagues to help a man open his car after he left his keys inside.

“It is nice when we actually help them,” said Caringer.