Rushing the start of the July 4 weekend got a Peabody man in hot water when his fireworks set part of his lawn on fire and he had to call Peabody firefighters.

Sheridan Brown of 511 N. Elm St. discharged fireworks in his yard the evening of June 29, two days before fireworks were allowed, and started a fire in dry vegetation. He tried to stomp it out, but it moved faster than he anticipated.

“He burned some taller dried grass, and the fire headed toward his garage,” Peabody Fire Chief Mark Penner said. “He thought it might catch the garage on fire so he called it in.”

By the time fire trucks arrived, Brown and his family had the fire out.

“They were worried it might start again, so we checked the area with the thermal imaging camera,” Penner said. “A couple of small hot spots showed up, so we squirted a little more water on them and were all done.”

Peabody sets the days on which fireworks can be discharged each year. This year they were allowed from 8 a.m. to midnight July 1 to 4. Brown was issued a citation for a fireworks violation.