‘It was terrifying’
The fire service is urging people to stick to public fireworks displays tonight rather than buying their own.
It comes after six people were injured from rogue fireworks that shot into the crowd at a church-run event in Christchurch.
Parents at the event say they don’t blame the church but the accident shows fireworks should only be let off by professionals.
There are also fears the “messy weather” forecast for tonight could increase the dangers of wayward fireworks, and also make it more likely the celebrations will be spread over a number of days.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson last night encouraged people to go to public displays rather than having backyard fireworks.
National fire risk management adviser Peter Gallagher said during Guy Fawkes there was a “significant increase” in unnecessary fires, property damage and injuries through the misuse of fireworks.
The fire service was called out 67 times for fireworksrelated incidents on Guy Fawkes last year, including to one where a 10-year-old suffered facial burns, he said.
“We want people to have fun but be safe with fireworks this Guy Fawkes. We recommend people attend public displays, but if you want to light your own fireworks, please be safe and check the fire season risk first.”
ACC figures show there were 518 fireworks-related injury claims in 2016.
Last week the Veterinary Association called for a ban on the public sale of fireworks, joining the SPCA, Should fireworks be banned?
which has previously pushed for a ban to protect animals.
The Government has long resisted such pressure — in 2014 then Prime Minister John Key said the Government did not want to be seen as a “nanny state”.
At the time a 25,000 signature petition called for a ban, but the select committee subsequently rejected it.
The Government yesterday said a fireworks ban was not on its radar.
But the parents of two girls burned by the rogue fireworks in Christchurch said displays should be left to the professionals. Will Hitchens and Rebecca Roberts said it was an accident and they didn’t blame the hosts, City Church.
Their daughter, 12-year-old Britney Roberts, was hailed a hero after she helped stop a baby being burned.
“I just hopped up, grabbed the baby, and told all the kids to come,” Britney said last night, just hours after the mother of the baby gifted her jewellery to say thanks.
“Afterwards, my leg started stinging. It was like, unbelievable. I was in shock.”
She and her elder sister were treated for minor burns at Christchurch Hospital.
Her parents, who watched the horror scene unfold, said a firework launched from a pot resting on gravel toppled over in front of a crowd of children and started shooting at them.
“They need to have professionals actually letting them off,” Rebecca Roberts said.
“If it was the big fireworks [let off on Friday] everybody would be dead. We would have lost our lives.”
Yesterday all but one of the injured in Christchurch, 4-year-old Mason Timaloa, had been discharged from Christchurch Hospital. Mason’s father, Leon Timaloa, told the Herald on Sunday the incident was terrifying.
His son may need skin grafts, and surgery.
Mason was screaming and had embers on him — which burned through three layers of clothing to reach his skin, Timaloa said.
“I thought ‘holy hell’. We were just yanking at him to get his clothes off him as fast as we could.”
The incident is now under investigation by WorkSafe.
“I thought ‘holy hell’. We were just yanking at him to get his clothes off him as fast as we could.” Leon Timaloa
Guy Fawkes is stupid. It’s a stupid celebration of a stupid event. Those who celebrate it inevitably celebrate it stupidly. We should find better reasons for burning stuff and better ways to burn. We should grow up and move on.
Let’s begin with today’s date. Exactly 412 years ago, Guy Fawkes was captured and his plot to blow up the British Parliament was nixed.
Since then, the British have marked the anniversary every November 5 by letting off fireworks and burning effigies of Fawkes.
Somewhere along the line, Kiwis apparently decided it’s a little macabre to be gathering grandma and the kids in the backyard on a November evening for an almighty effigy burning, and that part of the celebration was quietly dropped.
But we still see fit to celebrate attempted terrorism on today’s date.
But let’s be honest. None of us really cares about the date itself or Fawkes’ attempted plot.
We only care about fireworks. Otherwise, presumably, we’d be marking all sorts of attempted terrorist attacks. Can you imagine a Richard Reid day, when we all gathered and set fire to our old Nikes as an homage to the attempted shoe bomber?
Why not, at the very least, save fireworks sales for worthy celebrations?
The Americans save them for July 4th and New Year’s Eve. If we really, desperately need to be lighting our own fireworks, I’d pitch a midwinter solstice celebration, at the time of year when a few bangers are presumably the least likely to set anything else alight.
That brings us to safety. All it takes is one misfiring Roman candle, a munter with a Big Bang Box trying to impress his mates, or an unexpected gust of wind, and people and property are at risk.
When I was a kid, at least the danger of fireworks had a pay-off.
If you wanted to be really unsafe and threaten your cousin’s eyesight with a misfiring explosive, you could do it with something impressive. Buzzy bees and sky rockets: every suburban teenager was Kim Jong Un for the day.
But in order to make them acceptably (although-far-from-totally) safe, consumer fireworks have been regulated to impotence.
Household fireworks suck. They’re not worthy of their names and certainly not worthy of the prices they command.
Guy Fawkes is a fizzer and a potentially dangerous one at that.
I’d much rather we saved whatever money goes into staffing our fire departments and buying lame explosives and spend it on a few more decent public displays instead.