To ask your views on fireworks?

[LlynTegid]

I am sure there will be many on MN who have views, if threads in previous years are an indication. So I'll start the discussion here.

My opinion is that there should be designated days only, and organised displays. Probably no more than five or six such days a year. Allows for celebration, reduces possibility of injury, and warning so you can be indoors when they happen and protect any person or animal.

Most of the people saying fireworks are fine seem to be in areas where fireworks are confined to a few nights per year.

I think the problem is that in areas where there is more problematic behavior, people are chucking the things about A LOT and this makes it hard for those who struggle with fireworks to accommodate them. You can sedate a nervous family member with learning difficulties or move them somewhere quiet for the odd night, but not year-round.

Like so many things, we could afford a libertarian approach if we could rely on everyone to behave sensibly by choice, but in many neighborhoods that may be unrealistic.

I think having fireworks purchasable only by registered organizations (which could include things like sports clubs or pubs) via approved routes and useable only on NYE, BN and Diwali would be a reasonable compromise. If organizations have to be registered and traceable, we could trust them not to do stupid things like chuck them at people or animals.

And while we are at it, can we do something about open fires and woodburning stoves in normal urban areas? I can accept that these may be necessary in bono fide rural areas, but there has been a huge increase in these things in towns and cities, mostly for fashion/vibes rather than survival. They are obnoxious.

Had fireworks going off last night at 11pm.

Well Saturday night of bonfire week. Can't get an ambulance to come in an hour for someone whose had a severe overdose of medication. Absolutely ridiculous.

Too busy dealing with firework related incidents is the only thing I can think of

Agree with you. I personally hate them, and would never have let off fireworks in my garden knowing how many animals would be terrified. And no, you can’t train all animals (particularly wild or outdoor animals) to be ok with them. I really hope this weekend is the last of them.

I thought we were done with the fireworks but no, been going off again all evening here, poor dog is petrified, shaking and won’t settle, and I couldn’t take him for his evening walk once they start, I honestly thought they’d be done by now or I’d have taken him earlier :(

Some have just finished by us - started at 11.30pm ffs.

Had loads going off last night. People have money to burn

My cats were terrified last night, some inconsiderate sod was having them in his garden (not even small ones), I had all windows shut and the radio on, still the noise was loud. One cat was asleep on me and he literally jumped and hid under the bed, the other wasn't far behind. When I found them they were huddled together. They stayed there until I went to bed.

There's nothing I can do and it breaks my heart to see them like that.

No, the ambulance service is just fucked.

4 hours here for an elderly gent who had a suspected stroke in the town centre and was unresponsive on the floor. An hour is decent even for a cat 1 depressingly.

I love fireworks but thankfully aside from the big display don't get many others going off.

Well now that I am back (literally) from the hospital I can see what you mean. I can't believe the things I saw in hospital tonight. Absolutely appalling and no, I am not criticising for the sake of it or blaming the staff, who were run ragged with nowhere near enough staff compounded by weekend lack of expertise on hand.

The ambulance never came as we were forced to get the person there ourselves after waiting almost the full hour. Whilst bangers and fireworks were going off everywhere I had to run the streets to find a nurse who, I was told, lives the next street over and thank god she was in and another neighbour assisted to get the barely responsive person down 3 flights of stairs and into their car (I don't drive)

A deliberate overdose and no ambulances available! But I would not have found your experience believable @Flowerrrr until I experienced it! It's quite shocking.

Even organised displays can be ignorant of their surroundings I have one right next to my terrified horse, sheep etc they know what it does to them but do not care, it's not as simple as moving them (where to??).
They think it's perfectly acceptable to terrorise my animals but it's noted none of them bring their dogs 🤬🤬🤬

Holding a fireworks display right next to farm animals is either poor planning, total ignorance or cannot be asked to care frankly. I would have thought the council would take something like that into consideration with planning. If a horse bolts or something that's surely a pedestrian hazard!

It's evil is what it is.

I think silent fireworks are ok for the public sale, after all I believe in us having our freedom and not being treated like kids.

But fireworks with sound and bangs, organised displays only and not on public sale. Organised displays should be well advertised in advance so that people with animals can set up provision to keep them safe, etc.

Its crazy to me how little regulation there is about it.

I was once walking past a house on a dog walk on a completely random day when people set off fire works that were incredibly close to me. They presumably had no idea that people might be walking on the pavement behind their boundary fence. It was like being shelled, it was completely horrendous. Turns out it was a local firework enthusiast celebrating a birthday, on a random day in January. It was genuinely one of the most frightening things that happened to me

I know live in an area where neighbours tend to warn other neighbours but previously have been in situations where my dogs have been in the garden and a fire work has been set of 3ft away from them because we had no idea neighbours were having them just behind our back fence on a random Saturday

Most people wouldn't allow their family to stand close to fireworks and are safely tucked away, but there seems to be no onus on checking that public areas are clear nearby. I believe in clearly advertised local displays, where they do have responsibility for safety

Locally an animal hospital was thrown fireworks at.

I can't think of anything else where it would be permissable to do something this noisy, this dangerous and buy it from tesco

https://imgur.com/a/Iq8azlW

(No one is injured)

This is a classic example I saw this morning. Family safely ushered away, but no protection from anyone that happened to be driving past, using the pavement etc, or neighbouring house holds. Even if it hadn't gone as horribly wrong as it did here it and went perfectly it could still put others that happens to be leaving the house in danger

I can't think of another example where there was a risk of something like fireworks that can be bought so easily that ending up being aimed accidently at someones house.
Firework vid

This vid looks unusual because it's a front garden, but often it's just in back gardens where there are equally pavements, roads, houses and places people might be on just the other side of the fence

That video is shocking.

The thugs deliberately aiming fireworks at that house need to be arrested! Vile behaviour, but hey ho you can purchase them at the shops with minimal to no vetting.

It's Sunday evening and several have already gone off here...again🙄 And I bet they will still be going on next week too. I these people must go around buying from different places so they enough stock to last till January.

I don't think it was deliberate. I think it's simply that they didn't put it in the ground far enough
It looks likely they had a few outside set up and were watching so I think it was just a mistake which is partly why I think it's best left to professionals who set up cordons just in case this sort of thing happens

It seems bonkers to me that people can buy fireworks when there is a 'substantial' risk of a terrorist attack.

Petition here to change the law to organised displays only.
Please share if you can.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700013

Article here saying that red pandas at Edinburgh Zoo might have died due to fireworks.

It really shouldn't be that difficult to regulate them more strictly. Have light shows, get rid of the noise and air pollution.

Baby red panda ‘died of stress caused by Edinburgh fireworks’