The Epic Fireworks Blog

Posts Tagged ‘bonfire’

Yes kids, believe it or not young people had to work for their entertainment in the olden days.

Above you can see a group of rosy cheeked youngsters out collecting firewood for their bonfire. In those days the bonfire was just as important as the fireworks and it was a matter of pride to ensure that your street/village/club had a bigger bonfire than your local rivals. It was not uncommon for young wags (wag meaning something different in those days, not the wife or girlfriend of a footballer) to sneak out to light the bonfire of their “enemies” the night before bonfire night, leaving them with a pile of ashes rather than a big pile of wood.

Such acts often met similar retaliation and this could mean that no-one had a bonfire come the big night. Such is the nature of man.

We must only hope that these barrels did not contain anything flammable. Can you imagine a group of kids doing something like this nowadays? No, you can’t, because health and safety would have a fit, saying such things as:

“Climbing on top of a pile of wood, terribly unsafe.”

“Those barrels could slip and fall at any time.”

“This is an outrage.”

and other such mutterings.

However surely these are rights of passage for a young lad and made them appreciate their hard work  when they see the flames licking up from their bonfire heap and think “I made that”. This is something that is sadly lacking in todays culture. The kids would much rather sit and play their new computer game “bonfire builder 4: The finding of the pallet”

Now this is definately not the safest lad in the village.

It was common in the good old days for everyone to get rid of all their old crap during the bonfire season. Anything that could burn would be thrown onto the pile. Busted old sofas, the obligatory smelly urine stained mattress (when not occupying a skip), broken doors, piles of old tyres (as seen in the photograph above) that would billow out thick black toxic smoke for days. Nothing was banned from being thrown on a fire, after all, our fire had to be bigger than theirs. Nowadays of course, you cannot burn a piece of wood if it has a dot of paint on it as this will pollute our clean air.

We are all for clean air laws and would not condone burning anything that did not comply. But it did feel natural to launch practically any household item onto a fire, it was like a Spring cleaning, in Autumn and positively enforceed community participation.

And this is what is missing today; Community participation. The image above shows people dancing gaily (that meant something different in the olden days too) sharing each others company and coming together in a spirit of community. This was back in the days when people knew their neighbours forenames and surnames and spoke to each other more than just the morning nod as everyone jumps into their cars. Times were when a man felt like he belonged to street or town or village and did not just live there.

The bonfire was an integral part of this belonging, and like bonfire festivals and events that still go on around the world is a vital part of bringing people together. After all, many people still call it Bonfire Night.

What do you call the 5th of November?

a)Bonfire Night

b)Guy Fawkes Night

c)Fireworks Night

Leave us a comment and let us know.

In Tehran, the capital of Iran, the big boss Ayatollah Khamenei has asked his people to boycott the Persian fire festival (Chaharshanbeh-Suri) which is scheduled for Tuesday. He called the festival un-Islamic as it is essentially praising fire and said it causes harm and corruption. Going on to say that it is best avoided.

The festival is very old, dating back to before the 7^th Century when the country was mainly Zoroastrian (what’s this? I hear you ask. It’s a proper old religion from before Islam was in Iran, ooh, I hear you say)

Traditionally Iranians have celebrated the fire festival by lighting bonfires and jumping through the flames. All innocent – if foot scorching – fun.

Recently people have died in the region while making firecrackers for the festival and many fireworks shops there have been closed down.

The authorities are reportedly a bit worried that the governments opposition will use the traditional festival as a chance for protesting against the June 2009 re-election of  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – at this point its all gone a bit political so we are best not saying anything more on that subject.

Back to the fireworks, 128 people have been arrested for producing and distributing, wait for it, up to 3,000,000 fireworks around the city! Yes, 3 Million!! That’s a lot of firecrackers.

For the last 2 months the police in Tehran have been cracking down on firecrackers, sparklers and rockets and even home-made grenades. They have urged citizens to report any illegal firework activity to the local police.

The Chaharshanbeh-Suri (Fire Festival) festival takes place on March 16 the last Tuesday of the old year. Which is a bit odd as the word Chaharshanbeh means Wednesday and Suri is red. The red symbolises the burning sun, as do the bonfires. They are kept alight all night to welcome the New Year.

Each year, there are many injuries due to the fire festival, last year there were 1817 reported accidents requiring medical treatment, three people were killed and four others were seriously injured. Not sure whether this is due to the improper use of fireworks or the bouncing over bonfires. Either way, we do not recommend using dodgy fireworks or jumping through fire but we do wish good luck to the people of Iran in their celebrations and hope this year’s event is accident free.

Its not only Iranians that like to hurl their body through flames, it seems to be a human thing in general and all around the world there are examples of festivals and celebrations where it is customary to risk life and limb in order to be seen hurtling yourself bodily over bonfires. The picture above is from the Lewes bonfire night celebrations in the UK, where visitors from around the country are positively discouraged from attending.

This dude will almost certainly have a burnt posterior in the morning.

Nutters Revellers at the Noche de San Juan (your thinking, night of St John? No, “Midsummer” believe it or not) celebrations in Spain throw themselves over the bonfire in an age old celebration where people watch each other get burned.

A COMBINATION of foul weather and hard work saw a massive drop in bonfire-related incidents in and around Kilmarnock last week.

Station Commander Stephen Logan, based at the town’s fire station in Campbell Street, said on Monday this year’s Guy Fawkes’ night celebrations had been one of the quietest his crews had seen for years.

Said Stephen: “Four years ago there were 40 fireworks/bonfire-related turnouts at the station from November 1-5.

“That figure has been steadily decreasing and the figure for the same period last week was actually down to just seven – a massive drop.”

The station commander acknowledged that the heavy rain over the days leading up to November 5 had helped the situation.

But he added: “It shows too that our approach is working. We have been co-operating with East Ayrshire Council, and that has paid off. Unofficial bonfires around the area were cleared away prior to Thursday night.

“We have also been going around schools talking to pupils about safety issues relating to fireworks.

“It was very pleasing to such encouraging statistics this year.”

The big East Ayrshire Council fireworks display planned for Kay Park on Thursday night was cancelled due to the boggy state of the area in the wake of the prolonged wet spell.

EAC said this week that they appreciated that the call-off had disappointed thousands of people, with the annual display normally one of the major events of the year in the Kilmarnock area.

It’s hoped to reschedule the display, but as the Standard went to press no future date had been confirmed.

Bonfire night parties can be great fun, but carelessness with a bonfire and fireworks can result in injuries and serious damage to property. If you are having your own fireworks and bonfire party I ask everyone to follow advice about bonfire safety and to carefully follow the instructions on fireworks.

Last year, 5 November accounted for over ten per cent of outdoor fires that month that were recorded as significant incidents resulting in either property damage, casualties, or rescues by the Fire and Rescue Service (*primary fires).

Chief Fire Officers around the country are asking the public to be careful on bonfire night. The President of the Chief Fire Officers Association John Bonney said:

We want people to enjoy themselves and have an enjoyable bonfire party. The way to do this is to keep safe and recognise that fireworks can be dangerous if they are mishandled or misused. Following simple advice can mean you have a bonfire night to remember for all the right reasons.

Tips for bonfire safety

Never build your bonfire too close to overhead cables or nearby property. Bonfires should be 18 metres from buildings, trees, fences, overhead cables and car parking areas.Bonfires should be no more than 3 metres in height. There should be a suitable barrier around the bonfire to keep spectators 5 metres away.Always check your bonfire before it is lit, children have been known to build dens inside them.Do not use petrol, paraffin, diesel, white spirit or methylated spirit to light the bonfire.Do not burn aerosols, batteries, bottles, foam-filled furniture, tins of paint or tyres.Keep some buckets of water nearby in case of emergency and to damp down after the event.Always extinguish your bonfire once your party has finished.Do not build bonfires on council land or others land without without permission from the council or land owner .

Fireworks

If you must have your own fireworks party, leave the lighting of the fireworks to a responsible adult.Only ever buy fireworks from a reputable retailer.Only buy fireworks marked BS 7114.Keep fireworks in a closed metal box, take them out one at a time and put the lid back onFollow the instructions on each firework use a torch to read them.Light them at arms length using a taper.Stand well back.Never go back to a lit firework.Never put fireworks in your pocket nor throw them.Keep a bucket of water nearby if you are setting off fireworks in your garden.Keep pets indoors.Alcohol and fireworks do not mix and may lead to injury.Dont set off noisy fireworks late at night and never after 11.00pm

After the display

1.Use tongs or gloves to collect spent fireworks, they might still be hot enough to burn

In an emergency

2.Cool the burn or scald with cold water for at least 10 minutes
3.Dont touch the burn or pull away any material stuck to it
4.Cover the burn with clean, non-fluffy material to prevent infection cling film is ideal
5.If clothing catches fire, get the person to stop, drop to the floor and roll them in heavy material, such as a curtain
6.Seek medical advice