Report
to the People
21st
October 2002
Firework Safety
Autumn in Britain certainly sees some of our stranger customs.
Within the space of a few days, we go from children dressed up as witches or Will Young chapping our doors and demanding sweeties with menaces, to fully grown adults igniting explosives to celebrate an attempted mass murder 400 years ago (or celebrate the fact that Guy Fawkes was caught and hung, I’m not sure).
But, while it’s good to see traditions standing the test of time, in recent years it seems that the traditional family fireworks night has come at a cost.
I thought it was just old age which made me think the misuse of fireworks was on the up. But I recently received some information from the Police which suggests that during the 2001 season, not only was there was a considerable increase in the use of fireworks, there were also more complaints about their misuse.
This was certainly reflected by my post-bag at the time. And this year, we are already regularly reading in our Telegraph about firework related injuries.
If we are to reverse this trend, we need to make people aware of how to use fireworks safely and what can happen if they don’t. And it’s good to see Scotland’s top Police officers mounting a nation-wide campaign to combat firework misuse.
But educating those who use fireworks is only one part – albeit an important part – of the solution. What about those selling them?
At the moment, the Police are playing their part in a CoSLA task group which is looking again at the fireworks legislation and are campaigning for certain aspects to be toughened.
They want, for example, to see the stringent vetting of firework sellers and the cost of a certificate to sell fireworks raised to a level which is more realistic than the current £13.
They also point out that, at present, there are no controls over the number of retail outlets selling fireworks in an area. Why not, then, require those applying for a certificate to sell fireworks to show there is a need for such an outlet? After all, if you are required to show need before getting a liquor licence or even a lottery machine in your shop, why should you not do so when applying to sell what are effectively explosives?
No-one, of course, wants to be a killjoy. And the 5th of November is a fun night. But if we don’t make it – and the weeks leading up to it – safer, it could soon become a thing of the past.
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