Remember, remember, fireworks are dangerous.

Today is the 5th of November, when people celebrate by letting off explosive devices, without the slightest problem about terrorist activity. It is fireworks night!

Now I have no problems with fireworks in organised displays, because they have set times. What I object to is the random setting off fireworks by individuals from now for at least a month, sometimes even longer if they have the odd firework left over to set off New Year’s Eve. And there is a lot of that about.

So here are some firework stories - mostly from this year already - about how hazardous fireworks can be, and why it is perhaps time to restrict their use to organised displays. There are responsible individuals who take care and have firework parties, but there are a quite a few careless or malicious users of fireworks.

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/11567960.Firework_thugs_will_be_treated_as_criminals__warns_safety_boss/?ref=ec

FIREWORK hooligans have been issued with a tough warning by Bradford's public safety boss following two incidents where people were put at risk.

In one incident a terrified family were ambushed in their home by hooded yobs who hurled a lit firework into the building, leaving two asthmatic brothers aged 10 months and two years old needing hospital treatment.

Another resulted in the arrest of a man at City Park, Bradford, following reports that fireworks were being hurled around the area mid afternoon.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/383087/fireworks-incident-in-thurso/

A firework which was set off in the centre of a north town on Friday night then entered a nearby house and caused damage.

The incident happened at a property in Traill Street in Thurso at about 11.10pm. Two fire appliances from the town were called to the scene and the firework was extinguished straight away.

A police spokesman said that the damage appeared to have been caused by a firework being set off nearby and then flying into the house.

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/news/local/dundee/dundee-fireworks-incident-sparks-action-call-1.651178

A Dundee chip shop owner is demanding action after claiming children as young eight have been setting off fireworks. Graeme Squire, 50, who runs Tony’s fish and chip shop in Mid Craigie, said he saw a group of youths letting off bangers before running away in the Linfield Street area on Friday afternoon. He now wants to find out how youngsters are getting their hands on the potentially dangerous devices.

The action call comes just days after a group of youths set off fireworks in a car park near Asda in Milton of Craigie. One resident said the youngsters were lighting them and throwing them into people’s gardens.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed officers had received reports of fireworks being set off, but no one was caught.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/aston-schoolboy-suffers-serious-eye-8032184

A Birmingham schoolboy has been treated for serious injuries to his eye and hand after a firework he was holding exploded. A spokeswoman said: “Crews were called to a teenager who had reportedly become injured when a firework that he had been holding exploded.

“On arrival at the scene, crews found a 15 year old boy who had sustained a serious eye injury and an injury to his hand. Crews treated and dressed his injuries at the scene before conveying the teenager to the specialist eye unit at City Hospital for further assessment and treatment.”

The spokesman added: “Unfortunately despite the many warnings issued at this time of year our crews are sadly all too familiar with people who have injured themselves in firework incidents.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/paramedics-warn-fireworks-exploding-peoples-8021640

Paramedics in Birmingham are urging revellers to stay safe this Bonfire Night after revealing they attended several incidents last year where fireworks exploded in people's hands.

WMAS Area Manager, Martyn Scott, said: "These injuries will remain with that person for the rest of their life, and in most cases we know that they could have so easily been avoided.

"It appears that people don’t realise they are holding an explosive device in their hands when they light a firework; it is always alarming when people are surprised that they get injured.

http://www.shropshirelive.com/2014/11/02/spent-fireworks-put-in-bin-causes-fire-at-home-in-telford/

Firefighters last night attended a fire in Telford caused by spent fireworks put into a recycle bin, which could have resulted in a family’s home being destroyed.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, Area Manager Andy Johnson said: “The attending crews quickly dealt with the fire and used thermal imaging cameras to make sure that there was no fire in the roof of the property. Upon speaking to the occupiers it became evident that they had placed the remains of some fireworks, which they had set off in their back garden, into their recycle bin believing them to be fully extinguished. Unfortunately, about an hour later the family smelt smoke in their house which alerted them to the significant fire that was threatening their home.”

Mr Johnson asked everyone to very careful when they dispose of their fireworks. “Whilst they may feel cold to the touch on the outside, they may still be smouldering inside.” He advises people to leave the remains of any fireworks in a bucket of water overnight and then dispose of them the following day. He pointed out that “Even better advice would be for everyone to go to properly organised events, where the organisers take responsibility for the safe disposal of the fireworks.”

http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/crime/appeal-after-fireworks-thrown-at-police-in-huddersfield-1-6929064

At around 10.30pm yesterday (Friday, October 31), officers conducting routine enquiries parked a marked police vehicle in Devonshire Street. While unattended, a window of the vehicle has been smashed and a firework thrown inside. Officers discovered the damage and removed the firework before extensive damage was caused.

Detective Constable Shaun Topham, of Kirklees CID, said: “Although the damage on this occasion was minimal the impact on the local community is far greater. The police vehicle has had to be taken out of operational use and as a result one less vehicle is available to attend both emergency and non-emergency calls from the public.”

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/deadly-bangers-could-sale-bonfire-8029266

Deadly and illegal fireworks are being sold in West Yorkshire.

The bangers are thought to originate from Eastern Europe or China and consumer watchdogs believe they are being offered at car boot sales or on markets.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service is warning traders and members of the public to be on the lookout for the potentially dangerous fireworks.

Due to their use in incidents of anti-social behaviour and associated safety concerns, bangers were banned outright in the UK in 1997, followed a few years later by bans on air bombs and restrictions on the dimensions of mini rockets.

However, it now appears that unscrupulous suppliers are ignoring the ban and continuing to supply them.

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Fireworks-Spare-thought-animals/story-23830435-detail/story.html

During Hallowe'en and the Bonfire Night period, please spare a thought for the animals and birds who may be terrified by the deafening crashes and blinding flashes.

Traumatised dogs are rushed to vets for emergency treatment; sheep can spontaneously abort; horses gallop into fences; and rabbits have been known to die from the shock.

Animal Aid believes that – for the sake of all animals – fireworks should be sold only to organisers of public events and not to individuals wishing to set them off in their gardens or in the street.

A ban on sales to the general public would also prevent the terrible cruelties reported every year of vicious individuals deliberately harming animals with fireworks.

http://www.rospa.com/news/releases/detail/?id=1345

Data collected across Britain in previous years shows that, on average, around 1,000 people visit A&E for treatment of a firework-related injury in the four weeks around Bonfire Night, with half of the injuries being suffered by under-18s. 

The Danger of Private Fireworks

I have already heard reports of fireworks being let of outside on housing estate close to a children's playground this year. And last Sunday night, the bonfire at Les Creux and the l'Auberge were set alight.

The UK has the following legislation which covers public places - such as a children's playground:

It is an offence under section 80 of the Explosives Act 1875 to throw or set off fireworks in any highway, street, thoroughfare or public place.

But I haven't been able to track anything more specific than a public order offence in Jersey. There are specific mentions in some of the laws, however. For example on roads: "No person shall, on any road throw or discharge any stone or missile or light any fire or firework", and in parks "A person must not discharge a firework". These are liable to a fine, but in the UK, the fines for firework offenses can be given "on the spot", thus obviating the heavy workload of paperwork and court time which could otherwise follow.

It's lucky it is just fireworks outside - which is bad enough - the usual problems have surfaced in the UK, or which more later.

I have nothing against professional organised displays, and indeed I was extremely upset to see the bonfire in St Brelade has been thoughtlessly set alight, but letting any Tom Dick or Harry have access to fireworks if over 18 is quite reckless, particularly given the fact that:

(1) rockets were being fired at cars last year in the St Brelade area
(2) there is currently a spate of cars being set on fire, and I would have thought that releasing more incendiary materials can't help.

In New Zealand, for example schools are regularly subject to arson attacks based on fireworks:

Schools traditionally suffer during the Guy Fawke's period and regularly find themselves the target of arson attacks. Already a classroom at Auckland's Cornwall Park Primary was set alight by arsonists using fireworks. It is a problem the fire service says has significantly increased. "What we know, is an arson season develops around about now," Fire Service manager Peter Wilding told ONE News. "We see an increase, almost a doubling in the number of school fires across New Zealand, for about the next two weeks."(0)

This was cut back to some degree by curtailing when fireworks could be on sale for:

In 2007, regulations were put in place restricting the sale of fireworks. This included reducing the days of sale from 10 to four, a move the Fire Service says dramatically reduced their workload.(0)

This illustrates how fireworks are dangerous as explosive material for incendiary action, and yet most legislatures, like that of Jersey, have severe restrictions on the movement of explosive, but exceptions in place for any fireworks, despite the fact that the Explosive's law covers fireworks: "explosives" has such meaning as prescribed, and shall include fireworks:

- No person shall use any explosives for any purpose except in accordance with a licence granted by the Minister.
- The provisions of this Article shall not apply to fireworks.

- No person shall purchase, acquire or have in his or her possession any explosives unless he or she is the holder of a licence granted to the person by the Minister authorizing such purchase, acquisition or possession.
- The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the sale, purchase, transfer, acquisition or possession of fireworks.

As one UK newspaper puts it: "The UK security service continually warn the public to beware of terrorist explosives and the once a year the UK sells tons of fireworks!".

If you know of any incidents, do report them to the police. One Deputy has told me that "It is important any anti-social incidents are reported to the police in order an 'i-log' is created which helps build up a picture of what is going on where so the police can target specific areas." Of course, it is very difficult for the police, as the miscreants have often moved on once they've set off their fireworks.

Incidents in the UK that are most dangerous come when fireworks are put through letterboxes. I know of only one case of that happening, back in the 1980s, when some bangers were pushed through the letterbox of a bungalow, inside which were a family of four. The father went out, caught the culprits, and allegedly literally banged their heads together, which is why the incident was not reported to the police. I wouldn't advise anyone to take their law into their own hands like that, but I did sympathise with his actions.

In Newcastle, there has been a spate of incidents, one involving a letterbox. The police caught a 16 year old with fireworks, and it does raise the question that, like drinking and smoking, it may be perfectly possible for younger teenagers to get hold of fireworks, despite strict laws on what can be sold. Someone older than 18 may legitimately buy fireworks, and sell them for a profit to youngsters, just as with drink or cigarettes, or the shop keeper may not exercise as much diligence in asking for proof of age as they should.

In the UK, not content with just having laws on age, they have been checked. In Surrey and elsewhere, a series of test purchases are being conducted across the county to check retailers are complying with age restrictions.

But age related laws can provide a level of control. When moves are afoot to increase the age for buying cigarettes and alcohol, it is perhaps perverse that no one has thought to increase the age at which fireworks can be bought to say, 21, to take it out of the range of the drinking culture.

Lives were put at risk when reckless pranksters hurled a firework through the letterbox of a home. The dangerous stunt was the latest in a spate of firework-related incidents in Newcastle's East End....PC Euan Faulke, of the Byker and Walker Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "It may be seen by some as just a prank, but it poses a huge danger. "Unfortunately these people don't think of the possible consequences of their actions." Police have stepped up patrols in the Byker and Walker areas of Newcastle after a recent increase in firework-related disorder. Earlier this month more than 100 boxes of Chinese Black Cat banger fireworks, each box containing 10 bangers, were seized from a 16-year-old on the street. He received a summons for Possession of Adult Fireworks by a person under 18. PC Faulke added: "We just won't put up with people having a negative affect on the lives of their neighbours.(1)

In Stirling, a firework was set off in front of a home, causing damage. The police are evidently acting pro-actively to control the dissemination of fireworks - and note they are also looking at "those who set off fireworks outside prescribed times". Most of the "rogue fireworks" that I have heard in St Brelade being set off in past years were often done around 10.30 pm or later. In the UK, with regulations made under the Fireworks Act 2003, it is an offence for anyone to let fireworks off during night hours (11pm to 7am).

A family's life was put in danger after a "reckless" firework set fire to a house in the early hours of the morning, police have said. The firework was set off in front of a home in Drymen, Stirling, on Sunday morning while the family, including three children, were sleeping. The porch caught fire but the family escaped unharmed after a smoke alarm went off. A 23-year-old man is being questioned in connection with the incident. Ch Supt Davie Flynn, from Central Scotland Police, said: "It is beyond belief that someone would be so reckless as to set off a firework in the direction of a family home in the early hours of the morning while they slept." The force is in the second week of an operation to crack down on those who set off fireworks outside prescribed times or sell them illegally.(2)

The rapidity with which fireworks can explode also led to another incident in Tyneside. In this incident, a noise in the front garden led to fireworks being set off when the door was opened:

A South Tyneside mum had a lucky escape after a lit firework was allegedly thrown through her door. Donna Brown had opened the front door of her home in Shaw Avenue, Biddick Hall, after hearing a noise in the front garden in the early hours of Sunday. The 40-year-old mum-of-two was pinned against the wall of the passageway as the firework exploded, filling the downstairs property with smoke and causing fire damage to the carpet and sofa.

The best advice, as given by UK Chief Fire Office Paul Fuller is to go to regular organised displays:

Chief Fire Officer Paul Fuller says:

"Every year somewhere in the UK people are injured by fireworks. This is the beginning of a long season for fireworks and candlelit celebrations across a range of cultures represented in Beds and Luton. "On November 5th we recommend families go to organised displays. If you must have your own display then ALWAYS follow the Firework Code on the box. "Injuries and upset are also caused by people misusing fireworks by letting them off in public places at inappropriate times of the day and night. They are dangerous and should be treated with caution.

Statistics exist in the UK for firework related injuries. It would be interesting to see if Jersey's Casualty department has any significant rise in injuries around this time of year. That, of course, is further expense onto the Hospital running costs.

PATIENTS suffering from serious firework injuries are admitted to the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery in Swansea every year. The majority of patients - adults and children - have injuries to their hands and face and many need to have skin grafts. Experts at the centre, in Morriston Hospital, said these injuries will have an impact on the patients' hand functions and facial appearance over a long period of time.(5)

Links
(0) http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/schools-high-alert-fireworks-3876030
(1) http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2010/10/20/vandals-put-firework-through-home-letterbox-72703-27509688/
(2) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-11673728
(3) http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/Firework-nearly-burned-home.6609826.jp
(4) http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Bedfordshire/Sandy/SG19/Bonfire-Night/Safety-Advice-and-Information/179322-Fireworks-take-care
(5) http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health-news/2010/11/01/how-can-autistic-children-and-families-enjoy-bonfire-night-91466-27576563/2/