dangerous yes or no?

Spiranic

Registered User
Ok I start this thread because I want to know how dangerous firework really is.. I mean the in holland illigal fireworks in particular. Is it really THAT dangerous or is it safe when you use it in the right way?
 

propyro2

Registered User
Golden Rule - never hold any device in your hand.
Wear safety glasses.
Most useful safety tip is PREVENT TIPOVER. Support cakes or place barrier between cake and audience.
With much better quality from China fireworks are relatively safe
 

Zaliotuur

Registered User
First for the legal fireworks:
I think the biggest problem in Holland is that most people go to the shop buy some good looking items and throw them in their car. Then when it's 1-1 00:01 they come out of their houses to light their new years eve fireworks and they don't know anything about what their stuff is going to do, they didn't read the manuals and they don't secure their fireworks enough against tipover. Furthermore I've personally not seen anyone wearing safety glasses.
As a last problem most people have had quite much alcohol and then it is extra dangerous because they are paying less attention.
If accidents happen most of them are either caused by intended misuse, ignorance (people not knowing what that item is going to do) or people not caring about safety distances. Furthermore in the cities and towns your neighbours can be dangerous too because they might screw because of one of the above reasons and you might be in danger.
Now please don't draw to conclusion thatthat new years eve is a highly mortal event here, most people have no problems at all or they are having close calls. This is due to the quite good quality and stability of most items. Most accidents happen because of intended misuse or people accidentily placing repeaters upside down.

About illegal fireworks:
The illegal fireworks are in my opinion more dangerous to the population then the legal because of mostly the same reasons. People not knowing what things are or do, or not caring about safety distances. Every year there are new people posting here with questions which seem to be lunatic, firing professional shells from very small distances, they don't know what quickmatch is also most of the times. Their trader didn't tell them and if they then fire the shell and they just lite the quickmatch accidents are just an inch away....
However FPM is working as hard as possible on these boards to inform people about how to use items they bought anyway in order to make it more safe.

Then some numbers I looked up source:
These are numbers which come from summing up all accidents throughout the netherlands.
  • new years eve 2004/2005: 620 people had to go to the hospital for threatment.
  • people aged between 10 and 20 years experience 44% of all firework accidents
  • 1 person died this year

The last but not least problem (no)
People are not really cleaning up after their fired their fireworks (shame on them!!!). Children going out 1st of januari during the day to burn all fireworksremains. This means all misfires are also burned and sadly every year some children get hirt because of exploding fires. The government is using TV advertisements against this and most other problems mentioned earlier.
 

Martin1988

Registered User
I think the biggest problem in Holland is that most people go to the shop buy some good looking items and throw them in their car. Then when it's 1-1 00:01 they come out of their houses to light their new years eve fireworks and they don't know anything about what their stuff is going to do, they didn't read the manuals and they don't secure their fireworks enough against tipover.


This his true.

But i think when u use firework on the right way, with all the safety advices then is firework not so dangerous as it seems.


Sorry for my bad english
 

Spiranic

Registered User
Thank you guys for the reply's.

Well this was my idea to.. when you use it safe it's not that dangerous.. And what about the Illigal Firecrackers? like "nitraten".
 

Zaliotuur

Registered User
Well they just make a louder bang, the biggest danger in my opinion is for example the concrete used in some crackers. And ofcourse metalscrap for example when they are used to blow something up (no)
Quite a lot of kids tend to throw the legal firecrackers towards eachother, thinking it is a game but accidents are waiting to happen if they do that with the bigger illegal ones. Some guys even throw crackers towards people or animals which are passing by which is obviously totally wrong and quite dangerous. That kind of actions also gives fireworks a bad image.
 

tommy-gun

Registered User
Zeewolde ligt toch in Nederland. Waarom open je dan een threat in het engelse forum.

Neem aan dat je Enschede nog kunt herinneren. Vanuit die ramp zijn er testen gedaan met vwartikelen waardoor men ging beseffen hoe gevaarlijk vw nu eigenlijk was. Aan de hand van die testen heeft men classificaties bepaald
voor vwartikelen, opslag en vervoer ervan.
Er zijn meerdere instanties aangewezen die verantwoordelijk zijn het controleren of iedereen die met vw te maken heeft zich aan deze regels houd.
Er zwerven veel filmpjes rond op het forum die je laten zien welke ongelukken met vw plaatsgevonden hebben. Hetzij door ondeskundig gebruik, brand, verkeerde opslag, ongelukken enz. enz.

Het gevaar van vw ligt hem hoofdzakelijk in het feit dat de gebruikte grondstoffen licht ontvlambaar zijn en bij ontbranding een hoge kinetische energie ontwikkelen door een uitzetting van gassen.


Groeten Tommy-gun
 

Mr_Mascleta

Registered User
In my opinion its clear, don't drink alcohol before fused the fireworks. Keep always enough distance, and tell the crowd this also, or the people how lives in your street. In cases off blocks/cakes take some stones to barricades the cakes. And also let 1 person ligth the fuses, and different persons, the you get a chaos. Anyway ilegal or stuff from the shop i think whemn you take the aboved samples nothing can happens
 

Ollie

Registered User
Then some numbers I looked up source:
These are numbers which come from summing up all accidents throughout the netherlands.
  • new years eve 2004/2005: 620 people had to go to the hospital for threatment.
  • people aged between 10 and 20 years experience 44% of all firework accidents
  • 1 person died this year

Just (it is enough but still) 13 % of the accidents happen with illegal fireworks. What does this tell us?
 

Zaliotuur

Registered User
Just (it is enough but still) 13 % of the accidents happen with illegal fireworks. What does this tell us?

I'm not sure Ollie, if 13% of the fireworks are classified illegal it would equally dangerous, if there is more then 13% illegal fireworks then it would be safer. But if there is less then 13% illegal then illegal would be more dangerous.
 

NLsandman

Registered User
If used the right way, professional fireworks is less dangerous than consumer fireworks, that's what I have experienced the last 10 years.

I had some accidents with consumer fireworks, cakes that tip over, exploding rockets, spinning fireworks witch burned halve of my hair, neck and back.

With professional, the only accident was with a thunder after blossem cake, 1.3 inch 100 shot witch exploded but did no harm cause of the distance I took.
When igniting pro fireworks you already are more alert and take processions.
 

propyro2

Registered User
If used the right way, professional fireworks is less dangerous than consumer fireworks, that's what I have experienced the last 10 years.
Not my experience. 1.3 causes much more serious injuries and injures many more people from the one accident. It is many times more powerfull, is electrically fired often, subject to lesser quality control tests in China and shoots bigger projectiles higher and faster.

1.4 safety (1.4 short for consumer) is all about user education. From my observations around the world the industry should be embarrassed by it's efforts to teach users about safety and how to set up their fireworks in a safe and user friendly way.

The fireworks are getting bigger and more powerfull and people are buying more. The labelling is hopeless and the risk of tipover is only mentioned in the fine print. Many multi shots have a high centre of gravity and will tip over.

If the short sighted, disorganised, un cooperative importers and retailers cannot self regulate and ensure every customer gets issued with printed safety instructions or a DVD, then the govt should make it compulsory.

When injuries rise or become the focus of govt's it will be too late for the industry to act as the govt will impose restrictions on the size and type of fireworks available.

Education is the key.
 

NLsandman

Registered User
Not my experience. 1.3 causes much more serious injuries and injures many more people from the one accident. It is many times more powerfull, is electrically fired often, subject to lesser quality control tests in China and shoots bigger projectiles higher and faster.

I can only agree with that.
When something goes wrong the effects are much seriously.
But my opinion is that professional fireworks is built different, with less changes of errors.
At consumer demo's there are always cakes that go wrong, ok the faults are less harmfull but never the less, 1 or 2 degree burn wounds are not funny.

1.4 safety (1.4 short for consumer) is all about user education. From my observations around the world the industry should be embarrassed by it's efforts to teach users about safety and how to set up their fireworks in a safe and user friendly way.

The fireworks are getting bigger and more powerfull and people are buying more. The labelling is hopeless and the risk of tipover is only mentioned in the fine print. Many multi shots have a high centre of gravity and will tip over.

If the short sighted, disorganised, un cooperative importers and retailers cannot self regulate and ensure every customer gets issued with printed safety instructions or a DVD, then the govt should make it compulsory.

When injuries rise or become the focus of govt's it will be too late for the industry to act as the govt will impose restrictions on the size and type of fireworks available.

Education is the key.

That's a great idea and I'll go one step further.

I think that we in the Netherlands also can use education about professional fireworks.
The problem over here is that it can't be banned and the normal procedure in the Netherlands is make it legal or educate.
That's for example how we handle our drugs problematic.
Just a pity that there was that fireworks disaster in my town, if it didn't occur the rules they have changed lately would have changed much more.
 
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