Fireworks Safety

7/31/2017 (Permalink)

Almost everyone loves fireworks!  The Fourth of July is just around the corner and we will be looking forward to watching the beautiful fireworks displays.  Some of us will go to local displays and some of us will watch the magnificent displays around the country on television.  Did you know that the largest fireworks display in the world happened at the New Year countdown on January 1, 2016?  It was in the Philippine Arena, Ciudad de Victoria Bocaue Bulacan, Manila, Philippines, consisting of 810,904 fireworks, lasting for 1 hour 1 minute 32.35 seconds in the pouring rain.  Amazing, isn’t it?The Chinese stumbled upon a kind of natural firecracker as early as 200 B.C.  They would roast bamboo, which would explode with a bang due to the hollow air pockets inside.  They believed that the noise would ward off evil spirits. At some point between 600 and 900 A.D., Chinese alchemists mixed together saltpeter (a common kitchen seasoning) charcoal, sulfur and a few other ingredients, unwittingly yielding the first crude form of gunpowder.  It is speculated that they were possibly trying to make an elixir for immortality.  When the Chinese began stuffing this volatile substance into bamboo shoots and throwing them into a fire, the first fireworks were born.   By the time of the Renaissance, pyrotechnic schools were training fireworks artists across Europe.  In the 1830s, the Italians began to incorporate very small amounts of metals and other additives to their fireworks, thus creating the bright, multicolored sparks and sunbursts seen in contemporary fireworks shows.  Until then, fireworks were just loud noises, orange flashes and faint golden traces of light. Legend has it that Captain John Smith set off the first fireworks display in America in 1608.  Some of the colonists may have gotten a little carried away and a spate of firecracker-related pranks became a public nuisance, prompting officials in Rhode Island to ban the “mischievous use of pyrotechnics” in 1731. Today, most states regulate how and where fireworks may be used, as well as the types of explosives would be available for consumers to purchase.  In 2009, nearly 9,000 Americans were hurt by fireworks with a disproportionate number of the injuries occurring in July.  This is why fireworks safety is so important.   The Fireworks Safety Code • Only buy fireworks marked BS 7114• Don’t drink alcohol if setting off fireworks• Keep fireworks in a closed box• Follow the instructions on each firework• Light them at arm’s length, using a taper• Stand well back• Never go near a firework that has been lit.  Even if• It hasn’t gone off, it could still explode• Never put fireworks in your pocket or throw them• Always supervise children around fireworks• Light sparklers one at a time and wear gloves• Never give sparklers to children under 5• Keep pets indoors• Don’t set off noisy fireworks late at night and never past 11pm