If you’re going to be hosting a fireworks display or bonfire celebration, you must consider the health and safety risks to ensure everyone is kept safe. This applies to fireworks or bonfires for Bonfire Night, Diwali, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year, as well as celebrations such as a wedding or birthday, or for a larger event run by a business. You must know how to control and handle fireworks and bonfires in these situations as both can cause serious injuries to attendees if they aren’t managed properly and safely.
Step 1 – Planning
- Obtain fireworks from a reputable supplier
- Evaluate the site and space where you will be holding the display.
- Can your spectators stand away at a safe distance?
- Ensure to check for overhead powerlines and other obstructions that could be littering the floor of the site.
- Have you considered the wind?
- Animals can be frightened by fireworks.
- Make sure to communicate with your neighbours in advance so that they can take necessary precautions
- Fireworks not marked with ‘Complies with BS 7114 Part 2 1988’ are only suitable for use by persons with specialist knowledge
- Allow at least 50m x 20m for your firing area
- Also allow a clear dropping zone for used fireworks of 100m x 50m
Step 2 – On the day
- Keep alcohol well away from the display site and bonfire
- Do not let anyone into the firing zone – unless they are the person assigned with the job of managing the display
- Assign one person or as few as possible to manage the fireworks
- Have adequate fire safety provisions on hand in case, such as; fire extinguishers, buckets of sand or water and metal litter bins
- For public events allow one steward for every 250 spectators and exit routes should be planned and clearly signposted
- Do not burn dangerous rubbish on bonfires, such as; aerosols, gas cylinders, tyres or foam-filled furniture
- Do not attempt to relight fireworks. You should keep well away from fireworks that have failed to go off. Allow half an hour at the absolute minimum to wait before you consider approaching it again.
Step 3 – Afterwards
- Used fireworks must be gathered – do not allow children to collect these
- Use tools to collect these and place them in a bucket of water
- Seek advice on how to dispose of them properly
- For further guidance please refer to the documentation produced by the Confederation of British Industry Explosives Interest Group (CBI EIG) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
How to Dispose of Fireworks, Bonfires, and Sparklers
After your fireworks or bonfire event, you must ensure that you dispose of any materials used correctly. Failure to do so could result in further risks. You should safely dispose of what you can on the day of the event. It can be difficult to gather all waste materials at night, and so someone must check the area first thing the following morning in daylight.
Fireworks
You should safely dispose of all fireworks after your display – including spent (those which have been used and weren’t misfired or partly ‘spent’), damaged, partly spent, misfired, and any that are unused. To do so, you should collect fully spent fireworks into a refuse bin. Any misfired, partly spent, or unused fireworks must be fully submerged in a bucket of water for several hours, or long enough to soak the firework the whole way through. Doing so will render the firework non-explosive.
Once this process is complete, it is advised that you may be able to dispose of the fireworks by placing them inside a plastic bag and putting this in your domestic waste. However, you are advised to check the manufacturers’ instructions about disposal that come with the fireworks or to contact them on the supplier for further information.
Bonfires
You should put out bonfires by pouring water on them, even if there aren’t any flames. This ensures that the fire has been extinguished completely and that the embers won’t reignite when the fire is left unattended. Once plenty of water has been poured on the bonfire and you are certain that it has been extinguished, you can leave it.
Sparklers
As mentioned, you must extinguish sparklers in a bucket of cold water immediately after use. This is because they will still be very hot and can cause burns if people come into contact with them. Once they have fully cooled, you can then dispose of sparklers in your general waste.
