National Campaign for Firework Safety
Annual report 1995

During a 6 week period last October/November there were two fatalities and 1574 hospital treated firework injuries.  Almost a thousand injuries required further and extensive medical treatment, in some cases for months following the accident.  450 were eye injuries.  Most of the injured were children and youths.  Thousands more were treated by parents, GP's, Chemists, and First-Aiders for injuries locally, but are not included in official lists which are for hospital treated injuries only.  The injuries were 50% higher than in 1993.  There were the highest figures for 25 years.  They come on top of a 20 year high in 1993.

The accident figures were released on the eve of the Parliamentary Easter Recess, so that nobody would notice them.  The largest number of injuries took place at back garden parties, 642.  500 injuries took place on the streets.  There was 213 injuries at large public displays, and 118 injuries at small public displays.  Most noise and hooliganism with fireworks took place because fireworks were too easily available to youths from the shops.  As a result people were terrorised particularly the elderly.  Animals were injured and killed by fireworks.  No animal welfare organisation keeps count.  People were subject to increasing noise from more powerful fireworks.  Some of the smaller firework companies import their entire stocks from China and Taiwan.  They re-label them with British labels.

Injuries at back garden parties occurred because people are looking for higher grade explosive fireworks.  Now it is possible to purchase category 3 fireworks from the shops.  These are fireworks more commonly used at firework displays.  People are now finding firework display cartons in their back gardens warning people to stand back 25 - 30 metres, which is meant for a display taking place on grounds the size of a football pitch. 

Now rogue dealers are bringing category 4 fireworks into the country.  They were not included for sale, in the British Standard on 7114, 1988, because Ministers at the time said that category 4 would never be on sale to the public for normal firework events.  The Government have reneged on that promise by de-regulating the firework industry and abolishing the import license for all fireworks entering the country.  Last year category 4 fireworks were brought in by container lorries from Holland, a dumping ground for all kinds of illegal and dangerous fireworks.  This year will be a major problem for Trading Standards Officers, who are being forced to pick up the pieces for this Government's obsession with de-regulation, and worst of all safety de-regulation.

Last year a Sunday Newspaper Reporter bought one such display type firework in category 4.  It contained 50 kilos of lethal ingredients and cost him £150.  When tested it exploded on the ground shooting flames up in the air for over 100 metres.

What has made it so dangerous for consumers in Britain is our ambiguous firework legislation.  Last year the Consumer Product Act of 1986 was abolished and replaced with the Consumer Product Act of 1994.  It purports to cover fireworks.  This Act defines a safe product as "any product which under normal or foreseeable of use including duration, presents no risk or only the minimum risk, compatible with the products use, and which is consistent with a high level of protection for consumers".  The Trading Standards Officers have said that in no way could fireworks be covered by this Act.

Last November the Minister for Consumer Affairs, said that the benchmark for safety would be the British Standard on Fireworks 7114, which does not include category 4 fireworks.  Fireworks would also come under the Consumer Product Act of 1994, and for good measure continue under the 1875, Explosives Act, which is outdated and deals with the 19th century making of fireworks and the sale of fireworks to 13 year olds.  The British Standard does not exclude category 3 fireworks from being sold from small shops for whatever purpose.

Last December we wrote to the firework industry via their representative body the British Pyrotechnists Association, which is the old Firework Makers Guild.  We offered to withdraw our 25 year old objection to shop sales of fireworks provided that the industry supported our Bill for licensed sales and licensed displays.  A National Training Scheme for display operators would be part of that scheme.  To date we have only had an interim reply to our letter.  The BPA said that our proposals would be discussed at a full meeting last July.  We have not had a response yet from the meeting, and have asked for a response one way or the other.  We firmly believe that this is an offer that the industry can't refuse.

Our proposals would deal with the abuse of fireworks and firework sales from the shops, where any young person can get hold of fireworks.  The control of fireworks through licensing would pout an end to the noise and nuisance of fireworks.  A standard license for shop sales would be available from Post Offices.  The sale of fireworks would be under the control of Trading Standards Officers for the local authorities.  The filling up of a licence form available from shops, with names and addresses and intended use of the product would be a serious declaration of intent on the use of the fireworks.  They would be available for those of adult age only.  Any abuses of the licence would bring heavy penalties both to the shopkeeper and the persons misusing the fireworks.  Under present laws the shopkeepers can repeat the offence of selling fireworks to children as many times as he pleases, after being fined.  This would stop.

The licence for firework displays would be similar to the Canadian legislation of 1972.  Thousands of display operators have been trained there since.  Local Authorities with the Trading Standards Officers and the Fire Brigade would ensure that arrangements for displays were properly carried out.  Training schemes would be set up and available in a number of centres around Britain.  Standard Fireworks Ltd have been over to Canada to see for themselves the licensing and training, and have expressed full satisfaction with it.  Standard Fireworks have been discussing such a scheme with the Health and Safety Executive.  But nothing has yet been decided by the HSE, the DTI, nor the politicians.

The industry and the campaign are agreed that there must be a reversal of the de-regulation o the industry if we are  to even begin to tackle the current problems, let alone the new ones with category 4 fireworks.  The campaign will insist that category 3 fireworks are sold only for firework displays, not back garden parties or hooliganism in the streets.

A sounding out of our proposals has brought full support from the leading organisations in the UK, including those already listed in our notepaper, and the following.  The CBI, the TUC, ROSPA, the Institute for Trading Standards Officers, support from the Royal College of Nursing, Age Concern, and the Federation of Pensioners, the Police Federation, the NASUWT, and the NUT, the RSPCA, the Canine Defence League, the Cats Protection League.

This year the official line from the firework industry will be that the 50% increase in fireworks injuries, the huge increase in noise and nuisance was caused by category 4 fireworks.  This line has already been given in response to the announcement of the figures.  Category 4 fireworks are a serious problem, but last year they were only part of the problem.  They would have been a greater problem but for the vigilance and intelligence of the Trading Standards Officers, who prevented their sale in 2 areas of the country.  The ensuing publicity drove the dealers and some small companies to ground.  Category 4 fireworks could be a greater problem this year, because they are already here, and because many container lorries will be bringing yet more of them over on the Ferries.  They will be sold from shops "under the counter", and street markets.  Most of the problem last year emanated from categories 1, 2, and 3 fireworks, which were available to the public quite legally.  Most of the problem fireworks in these categories were imported by companies from the Far East ( the cheaper ones ) and from Germany, ( the better made, more expensive and powerful type ). But even sparklers can't be ignored.  AS the DTI admits holding 3 or 4 Sparklers in the hand is the equivalent to the surge of a blow torch.  And these are the fireworks considered safe by parents who give them to young children and babies.

The Government and the firework industry cannot deny that it is their policies and their product that has caused the bulk of the 1574 firework injuries last year.  The animal injuries and deaths to animals.  The unacceptable noise and nuisance of fireworks extending now from September to late November.

The Government and the industry now have the opportunity to support our Bill for the licensing of sales and displays.  They can no longer sit back and watch the tragedies unfold, the walking wounded on the streets of Britain.  The Members of the House of Commons and Lords also have a role to play because they can't go on turning a blind eye to the problem.  If they do then the electors will respond with a demand for draconian laws which will wipe out most family and community events, and a complete ban on all firework sales.  Only the large displays put on by professionals would survive.

The majority of leading organisations in Britain have responded to the 50% increase in injuries and the 2 fatalities by supporting the campaign's licensing Bill.  The Government must assist the passage of our Bill through Parliament, so that we put an end to all firework injuries and the noise and nuisance that most people suffer.

NOEL TOBIN - DIRECTOR