A sparkling good time
A reader shares her May 2-4 fireworks mishap
‘‘ We all watched in horror as one burning spark slowly descended toward the ground and went directly into the full fireworks box. ANNE BELANGER
We raised three daughters in an area of semi-detached homes on a quiet court in North York. It was a safe and active neighbourhood filled with young couples and small children. As the May 24 weekend approached we did as we had in past years: arranged for a family barbecue followed by fireworks on the court.
The night was perfect. Grandparents sat on kitchen chairs on little balconies on top of garages overlooking the court. Parents were on plastic chairs on our front lawn. Children nestled together on blankets. Our brotherin-law was strumming ‘Puff the Magic Dragon” on his guitar. There were 60 friends and family gathered and as the sky darkened the fathers set up buckets with sand in the middle of the court and stuck in the first of the Roman Candles and Fountains. The emergency water hose was pulled next to the huge box that held the fireworks display. The first rocket was lit. It screamed into the air, burst into brilliant colours and we all watched in horror as one burning spark slowly descended toward the ground and went directly into the full fireworks box.
There was a moment of silence, which ended abruptly. Rockets exploded out of the box and launched into the air. The hose wasn’t on, and when someone went to turn the tap, the handle came off in their hand. My husband thought it best to tip the box over to spread out the fireworks so they wouldn’t touch each other, but now they were lit and shooting sideways into the street, into the crowd of people, under cars parked on driveways and on the court. The musician called, “Follow me kids” and led the pack of children into a backyard. Parents screamed and scrambled out of their chairs.
It was over in less than a minute; three hundred dollars of fireworks done in 60 seconds. People crept back and packed up their belongings. No one was hurt. No one knew what to say.
The following year we did not buy fireworks. We tried to be low key and just have a family barbecue with sparklers. A cousin showed up in a full fire suit he had rented at a costume store. The May 24 fiasco is a family legend.