Why we should ban fireworks

28 Responses to “Why we should ban fireworks”

1. jody says:
   

   i am a bit blown about by the wind on this one.

   i have always been a bit terrified by ‘home’ firework displays (i am untrusting soul)

   so on that count, i think that this is a good idea.

   on the other hand we had a great firework display by very trustworthy people at our vicarage, with a safety rope and everything.

   and soup, lentil and lemon, yum

   and hot dogs

   so, no help here then………;-)

   jody

   November 9th, 2006 at 10:52 am
2. Dave says:
   

   Jody – I think your trustworthy vicarage firework operators would be just the sort of people who would pass my special test with flying colours.

   November 9th, 2006 at 10:56 am
3. Christian says:
   

   I think sales could be restricted by age, or perhaps a simple sensible-ness test. Instruct shops only to sell to people in boring clothes, nicely polished shoes, wearing a tie – that kind of thing.

   The lady in front of me last week when I was buying some fireworks was accused of being under 21. In the end she had to produce a drivinging licence and several children that called her “mummy”, “that’s my mother” and “oh year, she’s my parent”! Quite funny!

   I would however issue an absolute ban of sparklers.

   Daddy to Child: “Here you are darling, please hold this flaming stick burning at 1000oC and spitting out hot burning sparks. That’s it nice and safe”

   I an happy, here and now, to offer my vote to any polotician willing to ban sparkers & speed bumps (onother story).

   November 9th, 2006 at 11:36 am
4. Christian says:
   

   Hi Dave, can you add a feature on your site that alows you to go back and correct the spelling and typos on post you’ve just made (see mine above).

   November 9th, 2006 at 11:37 am
5. MadPriest says:
   

   I had to search high and low, but eventually I found it – my serious hat. Dave, I’m with you completely on this one. As someone who has worked on farms I can tell you that animals, especially sheep, who are particularly stupid hence their use as a meataphor for people in the Bible, drop down dead because of fireworks. I also worry about people who have been in warzones or have been close to terrorist activity.

   My suggestions – greatly reduce upper decibel limit for fireworks and ban screachers (animals particularly hate them). Restrict the letting off of fireworks to 5th. November (7-10pm) only, this gives me the opportunity to get out of town with my dogs for the evening. Displays on any other day would require an act of Parliament eg for a coronation or Newcastle United actually winning a game.

   Simple and fair.

   November 9th, 2006 at 11:48 am
6. Neil says:
   

   Fireworks should be banned after 10pm, and in built up areas, and by teenagers, and… sod it, lets just ban them totally.

   I think a lot of people in Devon were put off fireworks the day the Uffculme firework factory blew up, that really was a sobering reminder of what powerful explosives actually go into these perfectly legal bombs.

   November 9th, 2006 at 11:48 am
7. John Davies says:
   

   When you say that ‘The sale of fireworks should be limited to professionals’ do you mean like George Bush and Bombin’ Donald Rumsfeld? (Plea for perspective using satire)

   November 9th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
8. Tiffer says:
   

   I also agree. Pop whing bang every night is fine, unless you have a dog, a small child, or a job.

   I have none of the above – and I still get annoyed!

   November 9th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
9. Emma says:
   

   Oh my word, I’ve stepped into an alternate ‘grumpy’ world! What happened? We live in a police state already, lets not make it any worse by introducing ridiculous limitations on fireworks.
   Incidentally I was IDed when trying to buy sparklers a couple of years ago when I was 21 and had none on me… but went round the corner to a different shop who sold me them without even asking my name! Was a good job, because I’d walked all the way into town with the sole purpose of buying them and it would have been a long walk back up hill to get any ID.

   November 9th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
10. MadPriest says:
    

    Oi, Dave, have you seen this?

    A bit late on the Dave Walker bandwagon aren’t they and where’s your hat-tip?

    November 9th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
11. Bimble says:
    

    I’ve bought fireworks for a display with family and friends and I’m gald that I live in a country where I can do so.

    Yah-boo to you boring sods!!! :p

    November 9th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
12. Karin says:
    

    And I thought I was just being old and grumpy. I’ve never thought fireworks were anything special, but some people seem to think they are marvelous and it seems wrong to spoil their fun.

    Afterall what does it matter if cats are scared witless, young children are frightened and unable to sleep and you can get a decent night’s sleep? Surely these people’s fun is more important??

    And, of course, fireworks have got a lot louder in recent years. Is this really necessary?

    November 9th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
13. bimble says:
    

    Of course they’ve gotten louder, you know, you just don’t get the same ‘Oooooooo’ and ‘Ahhhhhhhh’ rush with those older, quieter fireworks. That’s why they have to get bigger and louder every year, otherwise…. well, it’s just not good enough!!!

    And being a certified cat-hater (well, maybe disliker) my worries about their poor little fluffy selves just isn’t very high.

    Meanwhile, along with my love of thunder and lightning, I have always loved fireworks since a little child. Our house used to back on my old school field where they held a fireworks display every year. We used to stand on the shed to look over the hedge. It was great fun.

    November 9th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
14. ash says:
    

    i do know some people who probably should take the test… them what, despite my objections, nailed the Catherine Wheel to the top of a bamboo cane and stuck this in a flower pot, would be a fine example.

    No harm was done, and it was a very amusing sight to behold, though.

    November 10th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
15. Richard says:
    

    It does seem that some of the idiots are trying to weed themselves out…

    November 10th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
16. St says:
    

    Getting rid of idiots is not that hard. When deciding if young people were competent enough to play golf on the lovely Ellesmere College golf course we found, ‘Which club should you use on the greens?’ a good idiot remover.

    Last night our lovely, sensible, down-to-earth youth workers let off fireworks underneath a telephone line. Test question. Before letting off fireworks, which direction should you check is clear:

    a) Up?
    b) Down?

    I’m with you on banning though and will even forgive you for calling Kerron a top political blogger.

    That’s fireworks gone, along with Christmas lights, in one week. What shall we ban next week?

    November 10th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
17. Tired&Emotional says:
    

    I believe that this should be widened to all walks of life. We have so many idiots out there that they should be weeded out and destroyed.

    It would also help solve global warming; fewer idiots equals less CO2 emmisions.

    This should especially apply to the following areas:

    politics
    driving
    journalism
    walking
    blogging
    nerds

    We have enough problems as it is without starting more campaigns. Please campaign against something worthwhile instead.

    November 10th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
18. Mike says:
    

    I can see both sides of the argument, but I think I fall on the side of banning them.
    With any law banning something, you must balance “the right to own property”[art 17] with the right “to life” and “security of person”[art 3]. Access should be restricted to license holders only. (This is based on 3 bad experiences I’ve had – the worst was at a show when a firework fell over and fired at me and a friend, burning some of my clothes, but we both some how escaped with only minor injuries). (Nothing to stop people going to see a professional show though! And it’s cheaper

    off topic:
    On the other hand, I don’t really feel Fireworks are high up on my list of worries when compared to global warming, UK civil liberties (echelon, detainment) and other countries’ human rights (treatment of women, China’s govt’s attitude to anything, burma, etc) and UK+US govts attitude towards the Middle East (’tis gonna start a [big] war)…

    more off topic:
    On a happier note: Only 30 (work) days ’til Christmas! YAY

    Plus next year I’m going to Uganda+Rwanda! Yeeah

    Need some advice though (even more off topic)
    I need to find a way to get there in an environmentally friendly fasion. Anyone got any [cheapish] ideas?…

    November 10th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
19. joeturner says:
    

    Aggg 30 work days until christmas – how depressing. Here I am, brain the size of a planet…

    Anyway, I like fireworks, so you’re all wrong. I can go and stand in the field opposite my house and watch idiots spending hundreds of pounds in a few seconds of colour.

    November 10th, 2006 at 9:01 pm
20. joeturner says:
    

    Ps you might want to consider travelling on a freight liner to Africa eg see http://www.strandtravel.co.uk under voyages (not used them, no idea how good/bad they are). Dunno how cheap though (not very I suspect) and it probably takes a long time.

    November 10th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
21. Mike says:
    

    Hey! Thanks joeturner for the link. I’ve read that it’s possible to get around by cargo ship, but that’s the first useful site I’ve been to.

    Cheers for the help!

    November 10th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
22. Carol Lafferty says:
    

    MY BEAUTIFUL COLLIE DOG DIED DUE TO FIREWORKS THIS YEAR AND I BET MANY MANY MORE DID AS WELL. SHE TOOK A BAD PANIC ATTACK AND DIED SO ON PAPER ITS SAYS THESE ANIMALS DIED OF PANIC ATTACK OR HEART ATTACK AND NOBODY WILL EVER KNOW THE REAL REASON WAS FIREWORKS, SO IT WILL NEVER BE COUNTED OR REGISTERED AND EACH YEAR MORE ANIMALS DIE. I DISAGREE WITH LIMITING IT TO SO MANY DAYS OF THEY YEAR. PEOPLE WONT STICK TO THE LAWS AS IS THE CASE NOW. ITS TIME US PET OWNERS STOOD UP AND SAID NO MORE. ITS TIME THEY WERE BANNED ALTOGETHER.

    December 22nd, 2006 at 7:25 pm
23. pissed off in perrysburg says:
    

    i am an american. i was born here, i was raised here, i will die here. and part of my herritage, my connection to this great country of ours is celebrating our nations independance day with bonfires and illuminations. this is a long lived and much celebrated tradition set forth by our founding fathers, and your actions threaten to strip me of this annual event.

    all my life i’ve respected and enjoyed pyrotechnics. as an aspiring professional pyrotecnician i pride myself on the artistry and complexity of my craft. but more than anything it’s saftey. each year all my friends and family plan an elaborate disply to delight our families. last years show was an hour long, and included thousands of dollars worth of pyrotechnic devices, and man hours to make it all happen. not one injury.

    the joy and pride one feels after a safe and sucessfull fireworks production is undescribable. as one pyrotechnic device after another fills the sky entertaining my spectators we play every patriotic score imaginable. the entire evening is centered around celebrating the country we love, and the good men and women who fight and sacrafice thier lives to preserve it.

    your groups actions threaten to rob me of this. for this i have but one option and that is to consider this an assult on my rights as a citizen of this country. it’s incredibly inconsiderate and quite frankly, down right un-american.

    each and every legal consumer grade pyro device includes in it’s labeling the proper way to use it. the statistics you tout around regaurding injuries and house fires are un-representative of safe and propper use. as long as consumers follow the directions that are clearly printed on the packaging and the device itself, the chance for misshap is near nothing. in fact in comparison you are much more likely to be injured riding a bike, roller blading, jogging, riding in a car, or just about any other normal mundane day to day activity than you are by the proper use of fireworks.

    i sincerly hope you stop this misleading, unnecessary, and unamerican assault on such a long time cherished tradition. i was shocked and appaled to see this concept (consumer fireworks ban) being tossed around, and horrified to find that there are actually people who support this facist nonsense. there are a large population of good hard working americans who would be damaged by this ban and i hope you can re-direct your efforts in these matters to the education of consumers twords the propper use of pyrotechnics rather than the restriction of thier access to them. i’m sure me and all my fellow pyrotechnicians (novice and professional) would not only agree with it, but support thoes efforts of encouraging propper use rather than stripping everyone of something they love and cherrish.

    February 15th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
24. Mary says:
    

    What utter rubbish. Of course fireworks should be banned. They have become a total scourge. People no longer let them off on festival nights when everyone else is expecting them, nor are they the traditional, pretty displays that they used to be. They are huge explosions and for every loud firework that is let off hundreds of people are robbed of their liberty to enjoy their house and garden in peace.
    As for the letting off of fireworks being an expression of liberty, the celebration of the foiling of the gunpowder plot was actually a legal obligation in England until sometime in the 1950s. So all those pyrotechnic freaks aren’t exactly rebels.
    I’m banging (bad joke) on about fireworks in July because we were nearly frightened out of our skins the other week when some neighbours decided to launch WW3 on a Saturday evening – before it got dark.The next morning I found huge rocket shells weighing 85g each in the garden. They really would have hurt an animal or child.

    July 28th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
25. Mary says:
    

    I just want to point out that the above isn’t me, but another Mary… personally I love fireworks, and would be most upset if they were banned!

    August 7th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
26. crystal palace fireworks says:
    

    I can only speak for myself as a hobbyist pyrotechnist, who`s ancestoral family were once owners of “Brocks Fireworks” (the biggest manufacturer in the uk for 300 hundred years until there demise in 1987 when they sold out to “Standard” and then the chinese “black Cat” brand because of cheap imports).

    Anyway enough of the boring history!

    Firstly there needs to better education in science lessons in our schools regarding fireworks.

    We need better and safer laws regarding the use of sparklers/fireworks in general regarding flame proof clothing/face protection/gloves etc.

    Everyone over 18 should be allowed to set off fireworks on the celebration nights (bonfire night etc) in there gardens on condition they attend & pass a full days course on how to handle and display fireworks involving Cat 2 & 3 with a display company or person registered to handle cat 4, (those with criminal records or poor school reports can not take part for 5 years).

    Any member of the public who wants to let off fireworks on any other days of the year must do so in parks of a certain size and distance from residential areas, and under supervision of cat 4 holders where they are given plots providing they pass the cat 2 & 3 course, anyone caught letting off fireworks elsewhere or at anyother time should be immediately imprisoned for 1 year and fined 25% of there income for 3 years, and put in a chain gang to clean our sewers, and to work & pay off any damage caused by there offence, all scumbags and those that offend again should be deported to the isle of white permenantly (a bit like australia was a few hundred years ago) which is sealed off from the rest of the UK.

    Fireworks should be not be let off between the hours of 10.30 pm or 9.00am and only in certain weather conditions.

    Sparklers should be replace with “cold flame” cat 1 fireworks for children to handle (the same used in bright sparkely birthday cakes).

    We need the government to fund & expose people who are interested in fireworks in a safe way, so why can`t we have dedicated schools with courses on safety/display techniques/manufacture/contruction with a understanding of basic chemistry for hobbyists and the general public alike?.

    All constructive comments are welcome!

    September 28th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
27. Both Sides says:
    

    If we ban fireworks, can we ban dogs as well?

    You see, it’s because so many people get bitten (and killed) by dogs each year that it’s making me scared to go out. Now do I hear you say..”It’s not the dogs, it’s the owner’s fault!”

    Oh is it now? In that case I can safely say; “It’s not the fireworks, it’s the idiots who are using them in a unsafe manner.”

    We don’t live in a Nanny state quite yet do we?

    October 15th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
28. Wes says:
    

    I find this very interesting. There are lots of “Ban The Bang” voting sites. I think that a written test would be a VERY good idea. But why ban fireworks if kids will still get them. Like they say no selling cigguretts to kids under 18. But kids still get them! So what makes you think that banning fireworks will solve it. I think that this is killing the fun for 4th of July and halloween and other events involving fireworks. Thank you. -Wes

    January 6th, 2008 at 2:54 am